UC-NRLF 


SB    277    3flS 


•i 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


Book  45  Section  18 


/(Y 


INCUBATION  I 

*Si 


A  'GUIDE  TO 


Profitable  Poultry  Raising, 


BY 


E.  &  C.  VON  CULIN. 


PRICE,   ONE  DOLLAR. 


DELAWARE  CITY,  DEL. 

E.  &  C.  YON  CULIN. 

1894. 
Copyright,  1894  by  E.  &  C.  Von  Culin. 


VON  CUIylN. 


£ 


•fj 


C.  VON  CUI^IN. 


This  book  is  written  to  aid  and  inform  beginners 
who  know  little  or  nothing  of  artificial  incubation 
and  brooding  ;  to  assist  those  who  have  learned 
something  about  it  and  wish  to  know  more  ;  and 
to  supply  a  handy  reference  for  those  who  know  it 
all. 

As  originally  written,  it  would  have  made  a 
volume  three  times  as  large  as  the  present  one,  but 
the  people  of  to-day  want  everything  boiled  down, 
concentrated,  concise,  convenient.  A  tiiple  ex- 
tract contains  all  the  perfume  and  vital  qualities  of 
three  times  its  bulk  of  plain  tincture  ;  so  we  have 
rewritten  it,  carefully  eliminating  all  superfluous 
matter,  and  placing  the  gist  of  it  before  our  readers 
in  a  compact  form,  convenient  for  the  desk  and 
not  too  cumbersome  for  a  good-sized  pocket.  In- 
stead of  using  a  thick,  porous  paper,  which  would 
increase  the  bulk  fourfold,  we  have  chosen  a  heavy, 
superior  plate  paper  and  new  type,  believing  that 
our  readers  would  prefer  elegance  to  unnecessary 
bulk. 


INCUBATION  IN  EGYPT. 


Artificial  incubation  is  almost  as  "old  as  the 
hills."  It  was  known  and  practised  in  ancient 
Egypt,  and  is  to-day  an  important  industry  of  that 
interesting  country. 

While  no  monumental  picture  of  an  incubator 
has  been  discovered,  the  authorities  are  a  unit  in 
the  belief  that  the  Egyptian  hatching  houses  of  the 
present  time  are  substantially  the  same  as  those  of 
prehistoric  Egypt. 

Diodorus  of  Sicily  speaks  of  it  as  an  art  that  had 
been  in  use  a  long  period  before  his  time.  Pliny 
says  nearly  the  same.  The  Roman  Emperor 
Hadrian  found  it  generally  practised  in  Egypt,  and 
makes  special  mention  of  it  in  his  description  of 
the  usages  and  customs  of  that  country. 

A  French  missionary,  who  traveled  in  Egypt  in 
1737,  says:  "I  found  there  were  about  four 
hundred  chicken- ovens,  each  one  furnishing  about 
two  hundred  and  forty  thousand  fowls,  making 
about  one  hundred  millions  produced  each  year 
5 


from  this  source  alone.  In  selling  them,  they  do 
not  count  them,  but  measure  them  by  the  bushel, 
like  grain.  Though  there  are  always  some 
smothered,  this  process  saves  the  trouble  of  sep- 
arating them  according  to  quality  and  size.  In 
attempting  to  ascertain  the  origin  of  this  practice 
of  artificial  incubation  and  to  explain  its  success, 
two  facts  should  be  noticed  ;  first,  that  it  was 
exceedingly  useful  to  multiply  the  amount  of  food 
as  healthy  as  that  furnished  by  the  flesh  of  birds  ; 
and  second,  without  some  such  process  fowls  of  all 
kinds  would  have  become  very  scarce,  for  the 
reason  that  the  heat  is  so  great  in  the  laying  season 
that  the  pullets  abandon  their  eggs  for  the  society 
of  the  cocks.  Finally,  geese,  ducks  and  other  fowls 
are  also  multiplied  by  incubation." 

The  Egyptians  of  to-day  are  extensive  raisers  of 
all  kinds  of  poultry,  and  as  hens  do  not  sit  well  in 
that  or  any  other  hot  country,  most  of  the  birds 
are  hatched  in  artificial  hatcheries  or  incubating 
houses,  which,  on  account  of  their  necessarily  large 
size  and  consequent  expense  of  building  and  man- 
agement, are  not  built  upon  the  farms  of  the 
poultry  raisers,  but  are  owned  principally  by 
Copts,  who  make  a  business  of  hatching  for  the 
farmers  and  villagers  on  shares  or  for  a  stated 
price,  the  eggs  being  carried  to  them  by  the  poultry 
keepers,  who  receive  the  birds,  or  their  share  of 
them,  when  hatched  and  ready  to  remove. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  cling  to  their 
primitive   style   of  incubation,   the  Egyptians  are 
among  the  most  successful  in  artificial  hatching, 
6 


and  it  is  worth  while  to  note  that  they  use  no  hot 
water  tanks  in  their  hatching  rooms.  Hot  air 
suits  them  better  because  it  is  easier  to  control 
than  hot  water,  and  more  economical — important 
items  in  a  hot  country  and  where  fuel  is  high. 

Though  slow  to  adopt  improvements,  it  is  proba- 
ble that  they  will  ultimately  make  use  of  the  porta- 
ble incubators  which  require  no  night  attendant, 
and  with  which  each  farmer  may  do  his  own  hatch- 
ing at  home.  More  than  ten  years  ago  a  French 
company  in  Egypt  were  using  portable  incubators 
in  hatching  ostriches  at  their  ostrich  park  at 
Matareeyeh,  which  lies  ten  kilometres  northwest  of 
Cairo  and  one  kilometre  south  of  the  ruins  of  Helio- 
polis,  not  very  far  from  the  old  railroad  which  runs 
direct  from  Cairo  to  Suez. 


EGYPTIAN  INCUBATING  HOUSE. 


The  ' '  mahmal  "  or  incubating  house  is  built  of 
sun-dried  bricks  and  contains  from  eight  to  twenty- 
four  ovens.  On  each  side  of  a  passage  is  a  row  of 
ovens  and  fire-places.  The  ordinary  size  of 
the  ovens  is  10  feet  long,  8  feet  wide  and  6 
feet  high.  The  fire-places  are  above  the  ovens, 
and  are  the  same  length  and  width  as  the  ovens, 
but  not  so  high.  There  are  doorways  to  each 
oven,  large  enough  for  a  man  to  enter,  and  a  small 
opening  between  the  ovens  and  the  fire-places. 
Besides  this  there  is  an  opening  connecting  all  the 
fire-places.  The  latter  have  places  for  the  smoke 
to  escape,  and  there  are  also  chimney  holes  in 
the  roof  of  the  passage  but  they  are  seldom 
opened.  The  eggs  are  placed  in  the  ovens  upon 
mats  or  in  chopped  straw,  in  tiers  one  above  the 
other,  usually  hot  more  than  three  high.  The 
8 


fuel  used  is  "  gellah,"  made  of  the  dung  of  ani- 
mals mixed  with  chopped  straw  and  moistened  to 
form  flat,  round  cakes,  which  are  sun-dried  before 
they  are  used.  Only  half  of  the  number  of  ovens 
are  used  the  first  ten  days,  and  the  fires  are 
lighted  upon  the  fire-places  above  them  only.  On 
the  eleventh  day  these  fires  are  extinguished  and 
other  fires  are  lighted  on  the  remaining  unused 
fireplaces.  Then  some  of  the  eggs  are  removed 
from  the  first  set  of  ovens  to  the  fire-places  above, 
which  are,  of  course,  still  heated,  though  the  fire 
has  been  removed.  When  the  first  eggs  are 
hatched  and  the  second  half  hatched,  fresh  eggs 
are  placed  in  the  position  made  vacant  by  those 
first  hatched.  This  rotation  continues-  until  the 
hatching  season  is  over.  The  chicks  are  kept  in  a 
warm  room  for  two  days  and  then  delivered  to  the 
various  parties  for  whom  they  are  hatched. 

Sir  J.  Gardner  Wilkinson,  in  his  "  Popular  Ac- 
count of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  1854,"  describes 
the  ovens  and  the  process  as  follows:  "The 
modern  process,  like  that  of  ancient  times,  is  this  : 
they  have  ovens  expressly  built  for  the  purpose  ; 
and  persons  are  sent  round  to  the  villages  to  col- 
lect the  eggs  from  the  peasants,  which,  being  given 
to  the  rearers,  are  all  placed  on  mats,  strewn  .with 
bran,  in  a  room  about  1 1  feet  square,  with  a  flat  roof 
and  about  4  feet  high,  over  which  is  another  cham- 
ber of  the  same  size,  with  a  vaulted  roof  and  about 
9  feet  high  ;  a  small  aperture  in  the  centre  of  the 
vault  (at  /),  admitting  light  during  the  warm 
weather,  and  another  (e)  of  larger  diameter, 


immediately  below,  communicating  with  the  oven 
through  its  ceiling.  By  this  also  the  man 
descends  to  observe  the  eggs  ;  but  in  the  cold 
season  both  are  closed,  and  a  lamp  is  kept 
burning  within  ;  another  entrance  at  the  front 
part  of  the  oven,  or  lower  room,  being  then 
used  for  the  same  purpose  and  shut  immedi- 
ately on  his  quitting  it.  By  way  of  distinction  I 
call  the  vaulted  (A)  the  upper  room  and  the  lower 
one  (B),  the  oven.  In  the  former  are  two  fires  in 
the  troughs  a  b,  and  c  d,  which,  based  with  earthen 
slabs,  three-quarters  of  an  inch  thick,  reach  from 
one  side  to  the  other  against  the  front  and  back 
walls.  These  fires  are  lighted  twice  a  day  ;  the 
first  dies  away  about  midday,  and  the  second, 
lighted  at  3  P.M.,  lasts  until  8  o'clock.  In  the 
oven  the  eggs  are  placed  on  mats  strewn  with 
bran,  in  two  lines  corresponding  to,  and  immedi- 
ately below,  the  fires  a  b,  and  c  d,  where  they  re- 
main half  a  day.  They  are  then  removed  to  a  c, 
and  b  d ;  and  others  (from  two  heaps  in  centre), 
are  arranged  at  a  b,  and  c  d,  in  their  stead,  and  so 
on  till  all  have  taken  their  equal  share  of  the  warm- 
est positions,  to  which  each  set  returns  again  and 
again,  in  regular  succession,  till  the  expiration  of 
six  days. 

11  They  are  then  held  up,  one  by  one,  towards  a 
strong  light  ;  and  if  the  eggs  appear  clear,  and  of 
an  uniform  color,  it  is  evident  they  have  not  suc- 
ceeded ;  but  if  they  show  an  opaque  substance 
within,  or  the  appearance  of  different  shades,  the 
chickens  are  already  formed,  and  they  are  returned 
10 


to  the  oven  for  four  more  days,  their  positions 
being  changed  as  before.  At  the  expiration  of  the 
four  days  they  are  removed  to  another  oven,  over 
which,  however,  there  are  no  fires.  Here  they  lie 
for  five  days  in  one  heap,  the  aperture  (<?,/)  and 
the  door  (g}  being  closed  with  tow  to  exclude  the 
air  ;  after  which  they  are  placed  separately  about 
one  or  two  inches  apart,  over  the  whole  surface  of 
the  mats,  which  are  sprinkled  with  a  little  bran. 
They  are  at  this  time  continually  turned  and 
shifted  from  one  part  of  the  mats  to  another,  dur- 
ing six  or  seven  days,  all  air  being  carefully  ex- 
cluded, and  are  constantly  examined  by  one  of  the 
rearers,  who  applies  each  singly  to  his  upper  eye- 
lid. Those  which  are  cold  prove  the  chicken  to 
be  dead,  but  warmth  greater  than  the  human  skin 
is  the  favorable  sign  of  their  success. 

"  At  length  the  chicken,  breaking  its  egg,  gradu- 
ally comes  forth  ;  and  it  is  not  a  little  curious  to 
see  some  half  exposed  and  half  covered  by  the 
shell ;  while  they  chirp  in  their  confinement, 
which  they  show  the  greatest  eagerness  to  quit. 

"The  total  number  of  days  is  generally  twenty- 
one,  but  some  eggs  with  a  thin  shell  remain  only 
eighteen.  The  average  of  those  that  succeed  is 
two- thirds,  which  are  returned  by  the  rearers  to 
the  proprietors,  who  restore  to  the  peasants  one- 
half  of  the  chickens ;  the  other  being  kept  as  pay- 
ment for  their  expenses. 

"  The  size  of  the  building  depends,  of  course,  on 
the  means  or  speculation  of  the  proprietors  ;  but 
the  general  plan  is  usually  the  same  ;  being  a  series 
ii 


of  eight  or  ten  ovens  and  upper  rooms,  on  either 
side  of  a  passage  about  100  feet  by  15,  and  12 
in  height.  The  thermometer  in  any  part  is  not 
less  than  86°  or  88°  Fahr. ;  but  the  average  heat 
in  the  ovens  does  not  reach  the  temperature  of 
fowls,  which  is  104°. 

"  Excessive  cold  or  heat  are  equally  prejudicial 
to  this  process  ;  and  the  only  season  of  the  year  at 
which  they  succeed  is  from  the  i5th  of  Imsheer 
(23d  of  February)  to  the  I5th  of  Baramoodeh  (24th 
of  April),  beyond  which  time  they  can  scarcely 
reckon  upon  more  than  two  or  three  in  a 
hundred." 


Fig.  i,  plan  of  hatching  house,  A  A  A  A,  plan 
of  the  upper  rooms  or  fireplaces  ;  F,  passage 
between  ovens  ;  g  g  g  g,  doors  ;  e  e  e  e,  opening 
between  ovens  and  fireplaces ;  G  G,  rooms  for 
attendants,  fuel,  etc.  Fig.  2,  section  of  hatching 
house;  A,  upper  rooms  or  fireplaces;  B,  lower 
rooms  or  egg  ovens.  Fig.  3,  plan  of  upper  rooms 
or  fireplaces ;  fire  placed  at  a,  b,  c,  d.  Fig.  4, 
lower  rooms  or  ovens,  showing  eggs  in  place. 
Figs.  5  and  6,  sections  from  back  and  front  of 
upper  and  lower  rooms. 


A  GOOD  INCUBATOR. 


To  succeed  in  raising  poultry,  either  for  broilers 
or  for  egg  production,  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  good 
incubator.  A  tolerably  good  or  ordinary  one  will 
not  do ;  you  should  have  the  very  best  you  can 
find,  regardless  of  cost,  because  the  first  cost  cuts 
a  very  small  figure  when  compared  with  the  losses 
which  always  follow  the  purchase  of  a  "Cheap 
John  "  incubator  (?).  Of  course,  you  know  there 
are  various  kinds  of  cheap  affairs  misnamed  incu- 
bators. 

The  great  demand  for  incubators  and  brooders 
has  tempted  sash  manufacturers,  makers  of  show 
cases  and  others,  to  get  out  various  boxes,  cases, 
tanks  and  barrels,  with  various  attachments,  and 
call  them  incubators  or  hatchers.  Some  buy  a  lot 
of  almost  expired  patents,  and  boom  the  new 
machine  on  the  reputation  of  the  old  one,  to  which 
the  patents  originally  applied,  while  the  new  ma- 
chine possesses  none  of  the  good  points  of  the  old 
one,  which  to  build  would  cost  considerably  more 
than  the  new  one  is  sold  for. 

Many  of  this  class  never  had  any  merit,  and  went 
out  of  the  market,  but  new  ones  bob  up  along  the 
line,  have  their  day  of  deceit  and  disappear.  Watch 
for  them. 

The  wonderful  improvements  in  mechanism  in 
the  last  few  years  have  made  it  possible  to  procure 
a  first-class  machine  in  almost  any  line,  and  incu- 
bators and  brooders  have  moved  in  the  front  rank 
of  progress.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  getting  a 
14 


good  incubator,  provided  you  are  careful  to  avoid 
bad  ones  and  are  willing  to  pay  a  fair  price  for  the 
best. 

Do  not  be  deceived  by  a  similarity  in  names  of 
incubators  or  hatchers.  It  sometimes  happens  that 
a  sharper,  with  plenty  of  cash  to  advertise  and  push 
a  business  will  drive  a  rattling  trade  in  a  good- 
looking  inferior  machine  for  several  years,  making 
thousands  of  sales  and  hosts  of  unhappy  purchasers. 
Then,  when  complaints  pile  up  like  blocks  of  ice  in 
a  gorge,  and  respectable  papers  begin  to  question 
the  wisdom  of  allowing  the  advertisement  to  remain, 
and  the  business  begins  to  decline,  he  gets  out 
another  cheap  trap  and  gives  it  another  name, 
similar  to  that  of  a  first-class  hatcher,  which  has  an 
established  reputation.  Sharps  or  sharks  of  this 
kind  sometimes  hatch  out  a  new  firm  name  with 
the  new  machine,  and  the  people  make  a  rush  for 
the  cheap  affair,  many  of  them  confusing  or  con- 
founding it  with  the  meritorious  machine,  whose 
name  it  approaches  as  closely  as  possible,  without 
possessing  a  single  feature,  except  the  name,  which 
could  be  called  even  a  weak  imitation.  These 
tricksters  disappoint  their  customers  and  injure  the 
reputation  of  a  good  machine.  Look  out  for 
them. 

HOW  TO  CHOOSE  AN  INCUBATOR. 


We  are  not  going  to  tell  you  which  make  of 
incubator  to  buy  ;  but  we  are  going  to  try  to  show 
you  how  the  various  kinds  of  incubators  are  con- 
15 


structed,  their  several  methods  of  operation,  and 
the  good  and  bad  points  of  each  method,  with  our 
reasons  for  calling  them  good  or  bad,  as  the  case 
may  be.  Having  used  nearly  all  the  makes  now 
on  the  market,  and  many  that  have  gone  out  of 
the  market,  we  should  be  able  to  do  so  very  fairly. 
Then  we  shall  leave  you  to  judge  for  yourself. 
This  you  can  do  intelligently  if  you  will  carefully 
examine  each  machine,  either  by  actual  sight  of  it, 
or  by  the  illustrations  which  their  manufacturers 
send  out  to  inquirers. 

First  look  at  the  machine,  or  a  picture  of  it,  read 
the  description  which  accompanies  it,  and  be  sure 
that  you  understand  how  it  works.  If  the  prin- 
ciples are  clear  to  you,  then  consider  whether  or 
not  the  application  of  those  principles  as  shown, 
will  produce  the  results  essential  to  successful  incu- 
bation— if,  in  your  opinion,  they  will  accomplish 
all  that  the  manufacturer  claims  for  his  machine. 

If  the  construction  and  principle  are  correct,  the 
maker  can  have  no  good  reason  for  failing  to  show 
them  plainly  to  his  prospective  customers. 

When  a  manufacturer  fails  to  show  and  explain 
the  interior  work  and  construction  of  an  incubator, 
you  will  be  pretty  safe  in  your  conclusion  that 
either  he  has  nothing  good  to  show,  or  he  has 
something  bad  to  conceal.  These  are  enlightened 
days,  and  the  average  man  or  woman  readily 
understands  the  artist's  lines  when  accompanied  by 
simple  explanations. 

Do  not  be  deceived  by  handsome  appearance, 
big  claims,  or  miraculous  testimonials.     Beauty  is 
16 


no  objection,  if  it  is  not  made  a  substitute  for  util- 
ity. Good  testimonials  are  highly  valuable,  but 
look  into  them — write  to  a  few  of  the  persons  who 
give  them. 

Do  not  be  deceived  by  low  prices.  The  best 
article  cannot  be  made,  much  less  sold,  at  the  price 
asked  for  the  poor  or  bad  one.  A  house  is  a  house, 
yet  no  one  expects  to  get  as  good  a  house  for 
$1,500,  as  he  can  build  for  $3,000.  No  one  will 
say  that  one  house  is  just  as  good  as  another, 
regardless  of  plan,  material  or  cost. 


DON'T  MAKE  A  FAILURE 


For  the  sake  of  a  few  dollars  on  the  start. 
So  many  people  say,  "Well,  I  will  buy  a  cheap 
incubator  and  try  the  hatching  business,  and  if 
I  succeed  with  it,  I  can  then  buy  a  better  one." 
This  is  false  economy.  It  is  like  buying  a  poor 
horse  to  go  a  long  journey.  The  horse  fails  to 
carry  you  to  your  destination,  and  when  he  gives 
out  on  the  way,  you  must  either  buy  a  better  horse, 
or  walk. 

Nine  out  of  every  ten  failures  in  poultry  raising 
are  due  to  false  economy  at  the  start.  No  farmer 
who  knows  anything  about  harvesting  would  use  a 
scythe  in  preference  to  a  modern  self  binding 
reaper  because  the  scythe  is  cheaper.  Nor  will  he 
buy  any  but  the  very  best  reaper,  even  if  it  does 
cost  a  little  more  than  some  others.  It  is  true 
economy  to  have  the  best  and  to  start  right. 

17 


THE  BEST  SIZE  INCUBATOR. 


Many  beginners  are  undecided  as  to  what  sized 
incubator  to  get.  If  we  wanted  a  capacity  of  300 
eggs  would  get  three  incubators  of  100  eggs  capa- 
city each  ;  if  600  capacity,  three  of  200  eggs  each ; 
if  750,  three  of  250  each  ;  if  1200  capacity,  three 
of  400  each ;  if  1800  capacity,  three  of  600  eggs 
each.  This  is  much  better  than  getting  one  large 
incubator  for  all  the  eggs.  It  costs  more  for  the 
several  smaller  machines  than  for  one  large  one  for 
all  the  eggs,  but  the  advantages  are  :  You  can 
have  fresher  eggs  for  each  incubator,  you  can  sort 
the  eggs  if  you  have  large  quantities,  and  select 
those  with  shells  of  same  kind  and  thickness  for 
each  incubator ;  you  can  place  duck,  turkey  or 
goose  eggs  in  separate  machines,  or  use  a  different 
machine  for  each  variety  of  hens'  eggs.  You  can 
keep  a  record  of  each  kind  and  quality ;  you  will 
learn  more  about  the  amount  of  moisture  for  each 
class  of  eggs,  and  will  soon  become  able  to  hatch 
all  kinds  of  eggs  equally  well.  If  you  make  a 
mistake  you  will  discover  it  more  easily  and  can 
rectify  it  more  readily  ;  the  result  of  a  mistake  or 
an  accident  will  not  be  as  expensive,  and  you  will 
have  a  better  chance  to  retrieve  any  loss  which  you 
may  sustain  through  accident,  carelessness  or 
neglect  of  rules  in  hatching,  for  it  would  hardly  be 
likely  to  affect  but  one  machine,  and  as  that  one 
would  only  contain  one-third  of  your  full  quota  of 
eggs,  you  would  have  the  other  two-thirds  left 
even  if  all  in  one  machine  were  ruined,  and  you 
18 


would  not  be  apt  to  repeat  the  performance  (or 
non-performance)  with  either  of  the  other  two 
incubators.  * 


HOT  AIR  OR  HOT  WATER  2 


A  question  which  is  sure  to  confront  the  beginner 
(and  the  old  poultryman  who  determines  to  use 
the  incubator  instead  of  hens)  is  :  Which  is  prefer- 
able, a  hot  air  or  hot  water  incubator? 

No  one  can  answer  that  question  better  than 
yourself,  if  you  will  just  look  into  it,  and  make 
good  use  of  your  natural  intelligence.  Hear 
argument  on  both  sides,  but  examine  the  evidence, 
look  at  the  apparatus,  there  is  nothing  hidden, 
mysterious,  or  complicated  about  it.  The  prin- 
ciples are  as  simple  as  addition  and  subtraction. 
You  do  not  have  to  ask  a  professor  of  mathematics 
whether  or  not  two  and  two  make  four,  or  which 
is  the  greater  number,  one  or  two  ?  Neither  will 
you  have  to  depend  upon  any  man's  advice  in  this 
matter,  if  you  have  ordinary  intelligence  and  the 
self  confidence  which  every  man  must  have  to 
succeed  in  the  poultry  (or  any  other)  business. 

The  reason  that  so  many  intelligent  persons  go 
wrong  in  this  matter  is  that  they  do  not  stop  to 
think. 

There  is  so  much  nonsense  written  and  pub- 
lished, that  the  man  who  will  not  do  his  own  think- 
ing and  reasoning  will  almost  certainly  get  bewild- 
ered. For  instance  a  writer  in  a  prominent  poultry 

19 


paper  recently  wrote  advocating  hot  water  incu- 
bators "  because  hot  water  heat  is  moist"  and  sug- 
gested that  it  was  the  duty  of  those  possessing 
"  knowledge"  to  give  it  to  the  fraternity  through 
the  columns  of  the  poultry  papers  (and  the  editor 
published  the  nonsense  without  a  word  of  com- 
ment). 

In  another  poultry  journal  an  advertiser  of  a  hot 
water  incubator,  says  :  "Hot  air  is  necessarily 
foul  air.  Hot  water  is  next  to  hot  blood,  the  hen's 
life  giver  to  eggs." 

Did  you  ever  hear  such  philosophy  ? 

We  do  not  need  a  sage  to  tell  us  that — "  hot 
water  is  moist" — but  we  have  yet  to  discover  an 
incubator  in  which  the  eggs  are  placed  in  the 
water.  Neither  do  we  know  of  one  in  which  the 
hot  water  tank  is  open  to  the  egg  chamber  ;  nor 
would  a  single  chick  hatch  in  an  incubator  with 
the  heater  tank  so  opened. 

Nor  have  we  any  knowledge  of  blood  sweating 
hens. 

The  heating  tanks  of  all  hot  water  incubators 
are  both  air-tight  and  water-tight  as  far  as  they 
connect  with  the  egg  chamber,  and  if  they  never 
leaked,  not  a  single  drop  of  moisture  would  ever 
get  into  the  egg  chamber  from  that  source  ;  and 
except  in  those  machines  having  a  top  opening  or 
tube  from  the  hot  water  tank,  in  which  a  float  or 
other  device  is  used  to  operate  on  a  regulator  lever 
or  valve,  by  expansion  of  water  in  said  tank,  the 
water  in  the  tank  would  never  evaporate  or  grow 
less,  but  would  suffice  for  running  the  machine 
20 


through  one  or  a  dozen  hatches,  except  it  were 
necessary  (as  is  frequently  the  case)  to  draw  off  a 
quantity  when  overheated  and  to  add  cold  water 
to  hasten  the  reduction  of  temperature. 

But  as  far  as  supplying  moisture  to  the  eggs — 
not  a  drop  is  supplied  by  the  hot  water  tank. 
There  is  no  moisture  from  the  hot  water !  Now 
where  is  the  ' '  moist  heat  ?  " 

How  do  all  hot  water  incubators,  as  well  as  all 
hot  air  incubators,  get  their  moisture  ? 

From  open  pans  above  or  below  the  eggs. 

If  moisture  oozed  from  the  hot  water  tank  there 
would  be  no  necessity  for  moisture  pans. 

Now  let  us  look  at  the  hot  air  incubator.  It  has 
a  heater  over  the  eggs,  just  as  the  hot  \Vater 
machine  has.  You  can  call  it  a  tank  or  a  reser- 
voir, and  it  is  perfectly  air-tight  in  relation  to  the 
egg  chamber.  The  egg  chamber  is  heated  by 
radiation  from  the  lower  surface  of  this  tank  or 
reservoir,  and  it  gives  just  as  much  moisture  to 
the  eggs  as  does  the  heat  which  radiates  from  the 
lower  surface  of  the  hot  water  tank — which  is 
none  whatever !  Neither  can  it  give  any  fumes, 
because  neither  gas  nor  water  can  penetrate  the 
metal  radiator  which  has  no  opening  whatever  into 
the  egg  chamber.  The  heat  or  hot  air  does  not 
pass  from  the  lamps  to  the  egg  chamber  any  more 
than  it  does  in  the  hot  water  incubator. 

The  moisture  is  supplied  from  open  pans  above 
or  below  the  eggs,  just  the  same  as  it  is  in  the  hot 
water  machine. 

Now  in  the  face  of  these  facts  is  it  not  ridicu- 

21 


lous,  not  to  say  insulting  to  the  intelligence  of 
poultrymen,  to  assert  that  the  heat  from  a  hot 
water  tank  is  moist  heat. 

We  will  go  farther  and  say  that  the  best  hot 
water  incubators  use  moisture  pans  with  from  four 
to  ten  times  the  area  of  evaporating  surface  used 
in  the  modern  hot  air  incubator.  If  the  heat  from 
the  hot  water  tank  is  moist,  why  use  more  water 
in  the  egg  chamber  than  is  used  in  the  hot  air 
machine? 

Now,  let  us  see  what  logic  there  is  in  the  asser- 
tion that  "hot  air  is  necessarily  foul  air,"  when 
applied  to  an  incubator. 

The  egg  chamber  of  a  modern  hot  air  incubator 
contains  atmospheric  air  which  is  drawn  into  it 
from  the  room  in  which  the  machine  stands, 
through  ventilators  having  no  connection  whatever 
with  the  heat  reservoir,  and  the  heat  reservoir  has 
no  opening  whatever  into  the  egg  chamber.  The 
bottom  of  the  heat  reservoir  is  sheet  metal  and 
forms  the  top  or  ceiling  of  the  egg  chamber. 

When  the  lamps  are  lighted  the  latent  heat  in 
the  oil  is  gradually  evolved,  and  passes  up  through 
the  fire  proof  conductors  into  the  reservoir.  When 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  this  heat  or  caloric  accu- 
mulates in  the  reservoir — being  supplied  faster 
than  it  can  pass  out  through  the  draft  tubes  of  the 
reservoir,  which  is  open  to  the  outer  air  above  it, 
it  begins  and  continues  to  radiate  from  the  metal 
bottom  of  the  reservoir  and  is  diffused  throughout 
the  egg  chamber.  Nothing  passes  through  this 
metal  radiator  but  the  heat ;  no  air,  no  gas,  no 
22 


odor — simply  the  mysterious  agent  which  chem- 
istry has  named  caloric. 

Suppose  we  fill  the  heat  reservoir  with  water, 
coffee,  milk  or  wine,  and  heat  the  liquid  say,  to 
150°,  what  follows?  Why  the  heat  (caloric) 
radiates  from  the  metal  bottom  of  the  reservoir 
and  is  diffused  through  the  egg  chamber,  just  as 
it  does  when  the  reservoir  contains  air,  and  this 
radiated  caloric  or  heat  mingles  with  the  air  in  the 
egg  chamber  and  is  absorbed  by  the  eggs  until 
they  and  the  air  immediately  surrounding  them 
are  heated  to  102°,  103°  or  104°,  according  to  the 
desire  of  the  operator. 

The  air  in  the  egg  chamber  thus  becomes  warm 
air  or  "hot  air,"  and  if  there  is  good  ventilation 
in  the  egg  chamber,  the  hot  air  is  not  foul  air. 

Now,  what  becomes  of  the  assertion  that  "hot 
air  is  necessarily  foul  air." 

When  it  comes  to  the  question  of  hot  water 
heaters  or  hot  air  furnaces  for  heating  houses,  an 
entirely  different  principle  is  involved.  Although 
you  get  no  moisture  at  all  from  hot  water  pipes, 
you  get  pure  heat  from  them ;  but  the  hot  air  fur- 
nace is  heated  red  hot  or  nearly  so,  and  the  current 
of  air  which  passes  over  this  superheated  surface 
is  burned,  or  loses  a  greater  portion  of  its  oxygen 
before  it  enters  the  room  mingled  with  the  heat, 
and  it  also  has  a  chance  to  carry  coal  gas  with 
it.  The  hot  air  of  the  house  furnace  passes 
directly  from  the  furnace  into  the  room. 

Not  so  with  the  hot  air  heater  of  the  incubator, 
for  it  will  probably  be  heated  to  about  150°  and 
23 


\m  «J»  «J>  *b  «&  C&  el)  «fo  els  els  els  ejs  <J>  «J3  «Js  <J*  «Is  ti»  els  ejs  els  3s  els  ej»  ejj  els  ejs  el»  els  «J»  els  c&  els  els  els  ejs  els  els  els  els  3s  to/ 


the  air  which  passes  up  the  lamp  flues  into  the 
heater  never  comes  in  contact  with  the  eggs,  but 
keeps  passing  out  the  vents  and  valves  of  the 
heater  itself. 

The  temperature  of  the  water  in  the  hot  water 
tank  would  be  about  the  same  if  said  tank  was 
the  same  distance  above  the  eggs. 

It  does  not  require  a  profound  intellect  to  com- 
prehend this,  and  persons  who  are  deceived  in  the 
matter  owe  it  to  their  own  carelessness. 
*  If  hot  air  is  foul  air,  why  do  not  some  of  those 
wise  fellows  try  cold  air  in  the  egg  chamber  of 
their  incubators? 

The  man  who  spoils  his  own  affairs  through 
ignorance  has  our  sympathy,  even  if  he  does  not 
deserve  any ;  but  the  man  who  undertakes  to  in- 
struct others  in  matters  which  he  does  not  at  all 
comprehend,  is  almost  a  rascal. 

The  writer  of  a  book  for  poultry  raisers,  pub- 
lished within  the  last  three  or  four  years — a  man 
who  poses  as  an  expert  in  artificial  hatching,  and 
charges  for  his  advice,  says,  in  explaining  his 
preference  for  hot  water  incubators  over  hot  air 
machines  : 

"  The  reason  for  this,  to  our  mind,  is  that  the 
hot  water  gives  more  of  a  moist  air,  etc." 

We  expect  to  hear  of  this  man  writing  a  book 
for  farmers,  advising  the  use  of  butterflies  and 
grasshoppers — the  butterflies  to  make  butter  and 
the  grasshoppers  to  make  grass. 

The  advantage    of  the  hot  water  tank  in  the 
incubator  is,  that  when  the  water  in  the  tank  is 
24 


heated  it  takes  a  long  time  for  it  to  cool  off,  and 
it  is  thus  a  protection  to  the  man  who  is  too  lazy 
to  fill  the  lamps,  for  his  eggs  are  not  apt  to  cool 
off  enough  to  kill  the  germs  in  them.  But  if  he  is 
too  lazy  to  fill  the  lamps,  he  is  apt  to  be  too  tired 
to  go  turn  them  down  or  add  some  cold  water  dur- 
ing the  hot  part  of  the  day,  and  when  he  goes  to 
look  at  the  machine  he  finds  the  temperature  5°  or 
10°  too  high.  How  about  the  advantage  then  ? 
If  this  happens  on  an  extra  warm  night,  or  while 
he  is  away  from  home,  what  becomes  of  the  hatch  ? 
Which  do  you  think  most  disastrous,  underheat  or 
overheat  ?  We  say  overheat. 

The  advantages  of  the  hot  air  incubator  are,  that 
the  heat  or  hot  air  can  be  turned  away  from  and 
out  of  the  hot  air  reservoir  easily,  quickly  and 
automatically,  without  disturbing  the  condition  of 
the  egg  chamber.  The  entire  contents  of  the  reser- 
voir can  be  ejected  by  change  of  current,  and  re- 
placed with  cool  air  in  a  few  minutes  ;  and  by  action 
of  the  automatic  regulator  the  heat  currents  are 
again  turned  into  the  reservoir  and  the  temperature 
raised  therein  to  the  desired  degree.  This  is  done 
by  the  action  of  a  thermostat  in  the  egg  chamber, 
controlling  to  a  certainty  and  quickly  the  temper- 
ature within  the  heat  reservoir.  This  is  an  utter 
impossibility  with  the  hot  water  tank,  so  that  when 
it  becomes  overheated,  as  is  often  the  case,  you 
must  either  turn  down  the  lamp  and  wait  for  the 
water  in  the  tank  to  cool,  draw  off  some  of  the  hot 
water  and  ,pour  in  some  cold,  open  a  large  venti- 
lator from  the  egg  chamber  and  let  the  heat  and 
25 


moisture  escape  together,  open  the  door  and  risk 
chilling  the  eggs,  take  out  the  eggs  and  sprinkle 
them  with  tepid  water,  or  let  the  eggs  cook.  In 
a  properly  constructed  hot  air  incubator  (not  one 
with  single  wall  or  thin  walls)  the  heat  is  easily 
confined  and  controlled,  being  automatically  sup- 
plied or  cut  off  by  the  regulator,  which  acts  as 
does  the  safety  valve  of  a  steam  boiler.  It  also 
consumes  less  oil  than  the  hot  water  machine. 

The  disadvantages  of  the  hot  air  incubator  are 
that  the  kzy  man  who  cannot  look  at  it  once  in 
24  hours  may  let  the  lamps  burn  out  and  the 
machine  cool  down.  Then,  if  somebody  should 
deliberately  put  the  lamps  out,  it  would  cool  off,  in 
the  course  of  time. 

But  how  about  if  somebody  deliberately  (or 
otherwise)  turned  up  the  lamp  of  the  hot  water 
incubator,  would  it  not  go  to  the  other  extreme  ? 

The  sage  who  says  water  in  the  heater  tank  is 
like  the  hot  blood  in  the  hen,  knocks  the  "  moist 
heat"  theory  in  the  head,  for  a  setting  hen  does 
not  sweat.  Neither  does  a  very  warm  dog.  The 
overheated  dog  pants,  and  drops  of  moisture  fall 
from  his  tongue  ;  an  overheated  hen  also  pants. 

But  there  is  a  time  (we  almost  forgot  to  mention 
it)  when  the  water  tank  gives  moisture  to  the  eggs, 
and  that  is  when  it  springs  a  leak,  which,  in  the 
majority  of  hot  water  machines,  and  especially 
cheap  ones  made  by  contract,  is  as  likely  to  occur 
in  the  middle  of  a  hatch  as  at  the  beginning  or 
end — or  may  happen  as  easily  at  midnight  as  at 
daybreak.  If  you  are  on  the  spot  just  at  the  time 
26 


and  have  another  (empty)  incubator  heated  up 
and  ready,  you  can  transfer  the  eggs  to  it,  and 
send  for  a  plumber  or  tinsmith  at  leisure. 

Another  peculiarity  of  the  water  tank  is  that 
when  the  lamp  does  go  out  unexpectedly,  either 
by  reason  of  neglect  to  fill  or  trim,  or  from  the 
clogging  and  sticking  of  the  lamp  trips  used  on 
most  hot  water  machines,  and  the  water  gets 
cooled  off,  it  takes  a  long  time  to  get  it  heated 
again  ;  whereas,  the  temperature  in  the  hot  air 
reservoir  can  be  raised  from  minimum  to  maximum 
in  oner-fourth  the  time. 

From  the  opening  of  the  incubator  exhibit  at  the 
World's  Fair,  Chicago,  until  the  day  before  it 
closed,  we  had  three  hot  air  incubators  there  in 
constant  operation,  hatching  chickens. 

In  the  hottest  weather  all  the  other  incubators 
in  operation  in  the  building  were  obliged  to  put  out 
their  lights  at  some  period  of  the  day,  but  the 
lights  on  our  machines  were  never  extinguished, 
from  start  to  finish  of  the  exhibition,  except  when 
the  gas  fixtures  in  the  building  were  being  repaired 
or  altered  by  the  authorities.  A  new  guard  once 
extinguished  the  light  on  a  hot  water  incubator, 
about  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but  as  the  oper- 
ator arrived  soon  after,  no  harm  was  done.  This 
incident  was  made  the  stock  of  many  good-natured 
jokes  on  the  guard,  and  the  nucleus  of  several 
funny  newspaper  paragraphs.  A  certain  hot  water 
incubator  concern  (not  the  one  whose  light  was 
put  out)  has  made  it  the  subject  of  a  grand  fairy 
tale,  in  which  they  make  it  appear  that  all  the 
27 


incubator  lights  were  put  out,  that  the  men  who 
were  operating  the  three  hot  air  machines  admitted 
that  their  eggs  were  ruined,  but  that  no  injury  was 
done  the  eggs  in  their  own  machine.  As  the  lights 
on  our  machines  were  never  put  out  by  a  guard, 
we  never  had  any  complaint  or  admission  of  the 
kind  to  make,  nor  did  we  ever  hear  of  any  other 
lights  than  the  one  noted  being  put  out  by  the 
guard. 

MARKING  EGGS. 


The  man  who  is  in  the  poultry  raising  business 
for  profit,  will  use  every  known  means  to  make  it 
a  success.  By  a  few  marks  upon  the  eggs  he 
makes  it  possible  to  know  all  about  each  hatch, 
the  causes  of  success  or  failure  and  the  direct 
means  by  which  to  improve. 


FIG.  14. 

Fig.  14  shows  one  side  of  an  egg  marked  for 
record.     2   indicates   the   month  (February  being 
the  second)  in  which  the  egg  was  set ;   4  the  day 
28 


of  the  month  *  25  the  day  of  the  month  when  it  is 
due  to  hatch  ;  T  indicates  that  the  egg  was  tested 
on  the  5th  or  6th  day  of  incubation,  and  that  it 
contains  a  strong  live  germ,  as  shown  in  Fig.  i,  in 
article  on  testing  eggs  ;  L  indicates  that  the  egg 
was  tested  again  on  the  loth  day  ;  and  4  that  the 
air  space  is  about  the  same  as  shown  in  Fig.  4,  in 
article  on  testing  eggs.  A  different  figure  would 
indicate  that  the  air  space  on  loth  day  corres- 
ponded with  that  shown  by  a  Fig.  of  corresponding 
number. 


FIG.  15. 

Fig.  15  shows  the  opposite  side  of  Fig.  14.  A 
should  correspond  with  the  name  of  the  party  or 
yard  which  furnished  the  eggs  ;  S  indicates  a  thick 
shell.  If  the  letter  T  were  substituted  it  would 
indicate  a  thin  shell. 

We  have  said  in  another  place  that  the  different 
shells  require  different  treatment  to  obtain  the  best 
results.  You  will  notice  that  while,  as  a  rule,  dark 
shells  are  thicker  than  white  ones,  you  will  find 
some  thin  shells  among  the  dark  ones  and  some 
thick  shells  among  the  white  ones. 
29 


FIG.  16. 

Fig.  1 6  shows  a  different  egg  marked  on  the 
same  plan  of  Fig.  14.  2-28  indicates  that  the  egg 
was  set  on  28ih  day  of  2d  month  (February  28th)  ; 
3-20  that  it  is  due  to  hatch  on  2oth  day  of  3d 
month  (March  2oth)  ;  D  a  doubtful  or  weakly  fer- 
tilized egg  when  first  tested  on  5th  or  6th  day  ;  W 
that  it  has  been  tested  on  loth  day  ;  8  that  the  air 
space  on  loth  day  corresponds  with  that  shown  in 
Fig  8. 


FIG.  17, 
30 


In  placing  eggs  in  the  trays  elevate  the  large  end 
as  shown  in  Fig.  17,  so  that  the  head  of  the  chick 
will  form  in  that  end.  If  the  head  forms  in  the 
small  end  there  are  nine  chances  to  one  that  it  will 
never  get  out  of  the  shell. 


TABLE  FOR  KEEPING  RECORDS. 


The  accompanying  table  will  be  found  very  use- 
ful for  recording  hatches,  and  such  records  will 
enable  the  poultryman  to  discover  and  explain  in- 
telligently the  causes  of  his  successes  or  failures  in 
hatches ;  to  anticipate  and  avoid  the  poor  material, 
and  to  classify  and  properly  treat  that  which  he 
does  use.  In  marking  or  recording  air  spaces 
make  it  as  near  as  you  can,  but  do  not  attempt  to 
measure  them  all. 


BECOBD  OF  HATCHES. 

<        Eggs  from,     

A 

B 

c 

D 

M 
W 

S 

ON 

"ocT 

M 

— 

! 

—  —  '. 

Number  of  eggs,  .... 

100 

100 

100 

100 

4        Variety,  

L 
50 
50 

M 

B 

100 

PR 

1        Dark  esrsrs, 

100 

5 
95 

100 

r^ 

M 

"vO~ 

p-i 

~«0 

— 

1        Lisht  egers 

95 

I        Thick  shell,              .    .    . 

60 
40 
^5 

-I6 

4 
90 

~5 

Tj- 
"  CO 
M 

^S~ 

^ON" 

00~ 

— 

— 

j        Thin  shell, 

5 
92 

2 

8 

' 

J        Fertile  .    . 

90 

i 
7 

Doubtful,    

5 

10 

Tested  out,     ...... 

5 

7 

5 

.  6 

5 

t^ 

vO 
ID 

"^ 
CO 

M 

HH 



— 

Air  space  loth  I,.,     .    .    . 

8 

7 

8 

~~8 
4 

Airspace  loth  D.,     .    .    . 

— 

7 

ii 

80 

10 

Airspace  i6th  L,.,    ... 

4 

4 

— 

Airspace  i6th  D.,    .    .    .  . 

ii 

~87 

Hatched  strong,    . 

84 

90 

DAY  . 

HYGROMETER  ,  WET  BULB 

DRY  '  ' 
SPIRAL 

Hatched  weak,  .    . 

i 

i 

10 

2 

2 
10 

— 

Died  about  days,  .... 

5 
10 

2 

10 
2 
19 

Died  about  days,  .... 

I 

18 

2 

19 

"89 

10 

Ji. 
10 

~8o 

Unfertile, 

13 

Per  ct  hatched  F.  E., 

85 

90 

* 

COOLING  THE  EGGS. 


Cooling  the  eggs,  or  airing  them,  as  it  is  gen- 
erally termed,  is  a  very  important  part  of  incuba- 
tion, and  careful  attention  to  it  will  be  repaid  by  an 
increased  percentage  and  stronger  chicks. 

"I  do  not  need  to  cool  the  eggs,"  says  some- 
one, "  my  incubator  has  all  the  ventilation  they 
need."  It  may  have  plenty  or  too  much  ventila- 
tion, yet  for  best  results  the  eggs  should  be  cooled 
once  a  day,  beginning  on  the  second  day  and  con- 
tinuing to.  the  eighteenth,  inclusive. 

The  hen  leaves  her  nest  once  a  day,  if  allowed, 
and  in  exceptional  cases  where  she  does  not  do  so 
voluntarily,  she  should  be  taken  off  once  a  day. 
The  hen  that  leaves  and  returns  regularly  to  her 
nest,  hatches  much  better  than  the  one  that  does 
not.  In  moderate  weather  in  the  spring  the  hen 
does  her  best  hatching.  She  leaves  her  nest  for  a 
limited  time  and  returns ;  the  eggs  do  not  get 
chilled,  but  are  properly  cooled. 

In  hot  weather  the  hen  is  often  driven  from  the 
nest  by  lice  or  mites.  The  eggs  get  plenty  cooling, 
but  do  not  hatch  well.  This  is  partly  due  to 
neglect  of  the  hen  and  to  a  lack  of  vitality  in  the 
eggs.  It  cannot  be  all  laid  to  too  much  cooling, 
because  eggs  will  stand  considerable  exposure  in 
hot  weather.  And  it  is  so  with  eggs  in  the  incu- 
bator. They  may  be  left  out  much  longer  in  hot 
weather  than  in  the  spring  or  winter.  In  early 
spring  and  winter  the  hen  sits  closer  ;  she  moves 
the  eggs  from  centre  to  outside,  and  they  are 
33 


cooled  quicker  than  in  warm  weather.  When  she 
leaves  her  nest  once  a  day  for  food  she  returns 
quickly.  The  same  course  must  be  pursued  with 
the  incubator,  i.  e.,  the  eggs  must  not  be  exposed 
as  long  in  cold  as  in  warm  weather. 

Once  a  day,  beginning  with  the  second  and  end- 
ing with  the  eighteenth  day,  the  eggs  should  be 
cooled  to  about  80°  Fahrenheit,  not  cooler.  This 
can  be  done  after  turning  them  in  the  morning. 
One  soon  learns  to  tell  the  degree  of  heat  by  lay- 
the  hand  on  the  eggs  or  by  holding  an  egg  against 
the  face.  When  the  surface  of  the  egg  indicates 
80°  the  inside  is  of  course  warmer. 

The  incubator  should  always  be  closed  while  the 
eggs  are  out  cooling,  for  it  is  not  desirable  to  cool 
the  machine.  When  the  hen  leaves  her  nest  she 
does  not  dive  into  the  water  or  sit  upon  a  cake  of 
ice.  When  the  eggs  are  out  of  the  incubator  it 
takes  more  heat  to  keep  the  egg  chamber  at  the 
proper  temperature,  and  the  regulator,  if  it  is  a 
good  one  (and  an  incubator  without  a  regulator  is 
behind  the  times),  will  turn  on  extra  heat,  and 
when  the  cooled  eggs  are  replaced,  will  turn  on 
still  more,  automatically,  which  is  turned  off  again 
in  the  same  way  when  the  egg  chamber  recovers 
its  proper  temperature. 

Nine-tenths  of  the  successful  users  of  incubators 
cool  the  eggs  ;  so  do  the  manufacturers  of  incu- 
bators when  they  want  to  make  a  good  hatch. 
Cooling  the  eggs  is  one  of  the  important  items  in 
incubation,  but  not  the  only  one,  you  will  not  suc- 
ceed if  you  neglect  the  others. 
34 


TESTING  EGGS. 

This  is  a  very  important  part  of  the  business, 
and  if  properly  attended  to  will  throw  a  flood  of 
light  upon  many  perplexing  problems  in  natural 
as  well  as  artificial  incubation.  It  not  only  eluci- 
dates but  proves  the  truth  or  fallaciousness  of  our 
theories  in  the  line  of  hatching. 

Men  are  frequently  heard  to  say  that  they  never 
bother  with  testing  eggs.  That  they  cannot  replace 
the  unfertile  eggs  with  others,  and  therefore  noth- 
ing is  gained.  They  are  told  by  the  best  authori- 
ties that  boiled  eggs  are  not  good  food  for  chicks, 
and  as  for  themselves,  of  course  they  would  eat 
only  fresh  eggs.  Then  there  is  a  risk  of  taking 
out  hatchable  eggs  ;  so  they  run  all  the  eggs 
through  together.  They  say  that  they  can  break 
the  unhatched  eggs  when  the  hatch  is  over,  and 
see  which  were  unfertile — and  who  cares  whether 
they  were  or  were  not  fertile  if  they  did  not 
hatch  ? 

To  those  men  we  can  only  repeat.  "Where  igno- 
rance is  bliss  'tis  folly  to  be  wise." 

To  attain  the  best  results  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
to  test  the  eggs  in  process  of  incubation.  If  the 
eggs  all  come  from  one  farm  or  yard,  and  they 
prove  a  large  per  cent,  unfertile,  weakly  fertilized,  or 
stale,  you  will  notify  the  party  from  whom  you  got 
them,  and  he  can  look  into  the  matter  and  rectify 
it,  if  he  will,  and  afterwards  serve  you  with  vigor- 
ous fresh  ones.  If  he  will  not  do  so,  then  you 
can  avoid  him,  and  procure  better  (or  worse)  ones. 

35 


If  the  eggs  are  from  your  own  stock,  and  you 
know  that  they  are  fresh,  and  they  prove  unfertile 
or  lack  strength,  you  will  know  it,  and  can  pro- 
ceed at  once  to  remove  the  cause,  and  thus  save 
time,  eggs,  and  complaints  from  your  customers  to 
whom  you  sell  eggs  for  hatching. 

If  you  have  several  yards,  you  should  mark  the 
eggs  from  each  yard  so  that  you  can  tell  which  are 
the  best  and  which  the  poorest,  and  then  treat  the 
stock  in  each  yard  according  to  the  requirements 
indicated  by  the  testing  of  their  eggs.  There  is  a 
cause  for  each  imperfection,  and  you  should  dis- 
cover and  remove  it. 

You  may  test  your  eggs  this  month  and  find 
them  all  right  ;  next  month  they  may  be  all  wrong, 
suppose  that  you  wish  to  set  two  hundred  eggs, 
and  get  several  lots  of  eggs  from  different  yards  or 
persons,  to  make  up  the  number.  One  or  two  lots 
may  be  first-class,  while  of  other  lots  nine-tenths 
are  unfertile  and  the  balance  too  weak  to  hatch. 
If  the  separate  lots  were  not  marked  you  would 
condemn  the  whole  lot  and  the  parties  from  whom 
you  bought  them  ;  and  if  you  did  not  test  them, . 
you  would  probably  condemn  the  incubator  or  the 
hens. 

In  selecting  and  marking  eggs  it  is  well  to  avoid 
extremely  large  or  very  small  ones,  odd  shaped 
ones  and  those  with  cracked  shells. 

In   testing  you  can  very  often   trace  a  number 

of  unfertile  eggs  to  a  particular  hen  by  a  peculiarity 

in  shape  and  a  uniformity  of  size — that  is  where  a 

considerable  number  of  eggs  of  a  uniform  size  all 

36 


possess  the  same  peculiarity  of  shape,  you  can  be 
reasonably  sure  that  they  were  all  laid  by  the  same 
hen.  You  can  use  that  hen's  eggs  for  market 
instead  of  putting  them  in  the  incubator  next  time 
(unless  you  remedy  the  defect  in  the  bird),  and 
leave  room  for  better  ones. 

Among  the  causes  of  unfertile  and  weakly  fer- 
tilized eggs  are  an  insufficient  number  of  cocks  for 
the  hens,  or,  which  is  just  as  bad,  too  many  cocks 
to  a  yard  or  colony :  old  or  worn  out  cocks,  ill 
conditioned  or  debilitated  cocks  ;  overfat  or  aged 
hens  ;  too  close  confinement  of  breeding  stock, 
lack  of  green  food,  too  much  meat,  forced  egg 
production  by  the  use  of  condiments ;  low  vitality 
of  stock,  from  neglect  to  feed  properly  or  protect 
from  the  weather,  or  diseases. 

Stale  eggs  are  almost  as  bad  as  unfertile  ones. 
After  an  egg  is  eight  days  old  it  begins  to  weaken, 
both  the  germ  and  the  sac  or  tissues  which  en- 
velope the  yelk.  The  older  the  eggs  are,  the 
fewer  the  chicks  that  hatch,  and  the  weaker  are 
those  which  do  hatch.  The  percentage  of  deformed 
chicks  increases  with  the  age  of  the  eggs. 

As  the  yelk  forms  no  part  of  the  chick,  but  is 
absorbed  or  taken  into  the  chick  just  before  hatch- 
ing, and  is  its  natural  nourishment  for  the  first 
twenty-four  hours  after  hatching,  it  is  important 
that  the  egg  should  be  as  fresh  as  possible  when 
placed  in  the  incubator.  If  the  yelk  should  be 
stuck  fast  to  the  skin  of  the  egg,  the  chick  must 
die,  although  it  may  break  the  shell. 

Persons   have  written   to   us,  saying   that   they 
37 


have  had  from  one  to  six  chicks  hatch  on  the 
second  and  third  days  after  placing  the  eggs  in  the 
incubator  ;  that  they  knew  the  eggs  were  perfectly 
fresh,  having  taken  them  out  of  the  nests  each 
day,  and  that  they  would  like  us  to  explain  the 
cause  of  the  "  premature  "  hatches. 

They  were  simply  mistaken.  There  was  no 
doubt  that  the  eggs  hatched  at  the  times  stated, 
but  that  they  were  all  fresh  laid  could  not  be  true, 
unless  a  miracle  had  been  wrought.  Human 
ingenuity  has  dispensed  with  the  hen  as  an  incu- 
bator, but  it  is  and  ever  will  be  beyond  human  art 
or  science  to  shorten  the  period  of  incubation. 
Newly  laid  eggs  of  certain  breeds  of  vigorous 
fowls  hatch  from  twelve  to  forty-eight  hours  earlier 
than  eggs  from  some  other  breeds,  or  older  eggs 
from  the  same  fowls  ;  but  that  is  natural,  and  can- 
not be  changed  by  man. 

Those  "premature"  eggs  had  certainly  been 
under  a  hen  or  hens,  or  subjected  to  a  heat  of  at 
least  101°  for  from  sixteen  to  seventeen  days  pre- 
vious to  being  placed  in  an  incubator. 

Now,  if  a  few  of  the  eggs  were  sixteen  or  seven- 
teen days  old,  we  may  reasonably  presume  that 
some  of  the  others  were  nearly  as  old,  and  ii 
those  which  hatched  on  the  second  and  third  days 
had  live  chicks  in  them,  might  not  some  of  the 
others  have  had  dead  chicks  in  them,  chicks 
that  had  started  and,  after  being  taken  from  the 
nest,  died  before  they  were  placed  in  the  incubator  ? 

If  these  eggs  were  tested  on  the  fifth  or  sixth 
day,  any  large  chicks  would  show,  and  they  would 
38 


ordinarily  be  taken  for  bad  eggs,  if  dead  ;  if  alive, 
they  would  be  taken  for  eggs  previously  started. 
But  if  the  germs  had  died  at  any  time  between  the 
thirty-sixth  hour  and  the  tenth  day,  an  inexperi- 
enced person  would  probably  call  them  fertile 
eggs  and  let  them  go,  then  wonder  why  they  did 
not  hatch.  This  happens  more  frequently  than  is 
generally  believed.  Such  eggs  are  easily  avoided 
by  using  the  tester  before  setting  the  eggs. 

Chilled,  limed,  scalded  and  cold  storage  eggs 
sometimes  find  their  way  into  the  incubator  ;  but 
persons  should  not  allow  themselves  to  be  fooled 
so  badly. 

While  the  majority  of  persons  who  have  good 
incubators  make  good  hatches,  there  are  some 
who  would  make  decidedly  better  ones  if  they 
would  just  post  up  a  little  on  a  few  important  points 
which  are  easily  learned  by  practice  of  simple  and 
inexpensive  experiments. 

Few  persons  understand  testing  eggs  properly. 
Some  have  a  very  imperfect  tester ;  some  are 
unable  to  detect  the  fertile  eggs  closely — they  can- 
not distinguish  a  dead  germ  from  a  live  one,  nor  a 
weak  from  a  strong  one. 

All  eggs  should  be  tested  on  the  fifth  or  sixth 
day  ;  at  this  test  all  clear  or  unfertile  eggs  should 
be  removed. 

To  become  expert  in  testing  eggs  during  incuba- 
tion, it  is  necessary  to  have  a  good  tester. 

By  the  use  of  a  good  egg-tester  and  the  engrav- 
ings shown  here,  any  person  can,  with  a  little 
practice  learn  to  test  eggs  rapidly  and  accurately  ; 
39 


the  engravings  show  exactly  how  the  eggs  look  in 
the  tester. 

To  become  an  adept  at  testing  eggs  for  hatching 
one  has  only  to  use  a  good  tester,  his  eyes  and  a 
little  judgment.  Break  in  separate  saucers  (care- 
fully) one  which  you  suppose  to  be  a  good,  strong, 
fertile  egg;  one  which  seems  to  be  fertile,  but 


A   STRONG   FERTILE  EGG, 

On  the  fifth  or  sixth  day,  as  shown  with  a  good  tester. 

weak  ;  one  that  is  doubtful — that  is,  one  which  you 
cannot  decide  whether  it  is  fertile  or  unfertile,  and 
one  that  seems  decidedly  unfertile.  Break  one  at 
a  time,  and  examine  it  carefully,  making  note  of  it. 
This  should  be  done  on  the  fifth  day,  or  at  the  first 
test. 

A  strong,  fertile  egg  will,  on  the  fifth  day,  (tem- 
40 


perature  having  been  kept  at  102°,  103°  or  104°) 
show  a  dark  spot  which  will  float  and  show  veins 
running  from  it,  looking  somewhat  like  a  spider  ; 
a  weaker  one  will  show  a  spot  but  is  cloudy  look- 
ing and  muddled.  The  above  are  supposed  to  be 
fertile.  Those  which  look  clear  are  unfertile.  Do 
not  mistake  the  yelk  for  the  germ  or  chick.  All 
unfertile  eggs  are  not  perfectly  clear.  By  breaking 
a  few  tested  eggs  and  studying  their  contents,  carry- 
ing in  your  mind's  eye  (so  to  speak)  the  appear- 
ance presented  through  the  shell  prior  to  the 
breaking  ;  having  broken  an  egg,  say  of  the  strong 
fertile  ones,  select  another  from  the  unbroken 
eggs,  and  see  how  it  compares  with  the  former. 
Then  having  opened  a  fertile  but  weak  egg  select 
another  from  the  unbroken  ones  and  see  how  well 
you  can  match  the  germ  before  you.  Then  break 
a  few  apparently  clear  and  unfertile  ones,  and  you 
will  be  surprised  to  find  some  fertile  eggs  among 
them  if  your  tester  is  inferior,  or  you  are  careless. 
You  will  also  be  surprised  to  find  how  easy  it  is  to 
train  the  eye  to  detect  and  classify  minute  things 
by  a  little  systematic  practice. 

There  is  decided  economy  in  this  egg-breaking 
business,  for  it  will  save  eggs  and  chicks  in  the  end. 

Do  not  blame  the  sitting  hen  or  the  incubator, 
unless  you  know  that  your  eggs  refresh  as well as 
fertile.  We  would  not  have  eggs  for  hatching 
that  are  over  eight  days  old  at  any  price.  We 
would  not  use  them  if  given  to  us.  We  prefer 
them  not  over  five  days  old,  and  would  like  them 
still  better  at  or  under  two  days  old. 


It  is  not  hard  to  remember  thatfres/i  eggs  from 
healthy  hens,  fertilized  by  vigorous  cocks>  MUST  be 
used  if  we  are  to  hatch  a  large  percentage  of 
strong,  healthy  chickens. 

Fig.  i  shows  a  strong  fertile  egg  as  seen  in  the 
tester  on  the  fifth  or  sixth  day.  B,  the  dark  spot, 
is  the  live  germ  ;  A  A,  are  the  blood  vessels  extend- 


AN   EGG   TO   BE    DISCARDED 

On  the  fifth  or  sixth  day.      Weak  or  imperfectly  fertilized,  as 
shown  ou  the  fifth  or  sixth  day. 

ing  out  from  it.  This  germ  B,  is  seen  by  placing  the 
egg  against  the  aperture  of  the  tester  and  revolv- 
ing it  between  the  thumb  and  ringer  until  the  side 
on  which  the  germ  has  formed  comes  nearest  the 
eye.  The  spot  B,  will  be  seen  plainly,  often  sur- 
rounded by  a  small  cloud,  as  shown  ;  the  germ  at 
this  time  is  quite  lively,  and  can  be  seen  to  move 
42 


up  and  down.  This  is  a  strong,  fertile  egg,  and 
should  hatch  under  a  good  hen  or  in  a  good  incu- 
bator. In  a  well  fertilized  egg  the  blood  vessels 
should  show  plainly,  but  the  germ  is  not  always 
seen  as  plainly,  varying  with  the  color  and  thick- 
ness of  the  shell  and  the  power  of  the  tester  used. 
C,  shows  about  the  average  air  bulb  in  an  egg  on 


A    STALE    EGG. 

As  shown    on  fifth   or  sixth  day  :    clouded,   doubtful ;    many  such 
should  be  broken. 

the  fifth  or  sixth  day  of  incubation,  though  it  may 
vary  according  to  the  freshness  of  the  egg,  and 
some  eggs  have  larger  air  bulbs  than  others. 

Fig.    2,  shows   a  weak  or  imperfectly  fertilized 
egg  as  seen  in  the  tester  on  the  fifth  or  sixth  day. 
H,  is  an  oblong  or  circular  blood  vessel  which  has 
43 


started,  but  nothing  more,  there  is  no  heart,  nor 
any  part  of  a  chick  started.  This  egg1  will  not 
hatch,  but  will  decay  if  left  in  the  hatcher.  G, 
shows  a  small  dark  spot,  a  weak  germ,  without 
blood  vessels,  only  partially  fertilized ;  it  has  died, 
after  a  start,  and,  of  course,  will  not  hatch.  Both 
H  and  G,  may  sometimes  be  seen  in  the  same  egg. 
It  will  not  hatch.  F,  the  air  bulb,  may  be  seen  in 
the  same  egg.  The  egg  may  be  comparatively 
fresh,  and  yet  show  both  G  and  H.  See  the  follow- 
ing notes  which  explain  why  such  eggs  are  found. 

Fig.  3,  shows  a  stale  egg,  a  clouded  egg,  a 
doubtful  egg.  A  stale  egg  is  generally  distin- 
guished by  the  air  space  E,  being  very  large  on  the 
fifth  or  sixth  day,  as  shown  in  Fig.  3,  though  all 
stale  eggs  do  not  show  a  very  large  air  space  ;  but 
when  an  egg  does  show  it,  it  is  very  good  proot 
the  egg  is  stale.  When  an  egg  shows  a  clouded, 
muddled  appearance  as  indicated  by  D  (which  gen- 
erally moves  about  when  the  egg  is  turned  before 
the  tester),  it  is  certainly  stale,  and  will  not  hatch. 
Do  not  confound  the  fresh  egg  which  is  not  fertile 
with  the  stale  egg  ;  in  an  unfertile  fresh  egg  you 
can  see  the  yelk,  which  will  look  somewhat  darker 
than  the  rest  of  the  egg,  but  does  not  look  mud- 
dled. 

Fig.  4,  shows  a  live  egg  on  the  sixteenth  day. 
K,  is  the  space  occupied  by  the  chick  ;  the  lines 
I  and  J,  show  the  air  bulb,  which  may  be  on  top 
or  at  the  side,  as  indicated  by  the  respective  lines. 
This  is  about  the  average  air  space  on  the  six- 
teenth day,  but  it  will  vary  according  to  the  thick- 
44 


ness  of  the  shell  and  age  of  the  egg  when  set ; 
then  some  eggs  are  not  as  full  as  others.  At  this 
stage  of  incubation  (sixteenth  day)  a  live  chick 
darkens  the  egg,  except  the  air  bulb,  when  seen 
with  the  tester,  and  by  watching  the  line  I  or  J, 
the  chick  may  often  be  seen  to  move. 

Eggs  should  be  tested  in  a  warm  room,  one  tray 
at  a  time. 


A   LIVE   EGG. 
The  air  space  on  the  sixteenth  day. 

The  chick  is  harder  to  see  after  the  seventh  day, 
because  the  egg  becomes  more  clouded  by  the 
growing  chick. 

NOTE.  In  regard  to  G,  in  Fig.  2,  "a  partially 
fertilized  germ"  means  one  that  from  one  of  sev- 
45 


eral  causes  was  not  strong  enough  to  live  and 
grow.  Among  those  causes  are  cocks  that  are 
too  old,  an  insufficient  proportion  of  male  birds 
for  females  ;  old  or  debilitated  hens,  over-fat  hens, 
too  close  confinement  of  breeding  stock,  etc. 

Again  you  may  find  G  (Fig.  2),  among  eggs 
which  you  believe  or  know  are  not  over  a  week 
old,  and  ordinarily  the  eggs  were  good  and  fertile. 
It  frequently  happens  that  an  egg  will  remain  in 
the  nest,  while  several,  or  maybe  a  dozen  hens  lay 
there,  and  the  succession  of  layers  keep  the  egg 
warm  enough  to  start  incubation,  or  it  may  happen 
that  some  eggs  may  have  been  subjected  to  a  heat 
of  100°,  in  some  warm  place,  unknown  to  or  un- 
noticed by  you.  In  either  case,  these  eggs  are 
taken  from  the  nest  or  warm  corner  to  a  cooler 
place,  and  kept  a  few  days,  or  over  night,  until  a 
sufficient  number  has  been  accumulated  to  set,  they 
become  cold,  and  the  germ  dies  before  they  are 
put  under  the  hen  or  in  an  incubator. 

In  testing  the  first  time,  on  the  fifth  or  sixth  day, 
a  dead  germ  may  be  mistaken  for  a  live  weak  germ, 
and  if  left  in  the  incubator  for  three  weeks  would 
decay ;  so  it  is  always  best  to  test  the  eggs  again 
on  the  tenth  day,  and  remove  all  that  have  been 
marked  doubtful  and  prove  not  good. 

Some  persons  think  it  is  just  as  well  to  leave  all 
of  them  in  until  hatching  is  finished,  but  this  is  not 
right,  the  decaying  eggs  generate  objectionable 
gases,  and  if  broken  are  very  offensive.  A  dead 
egg  or  an  unfertile  egg,  does  not  contain  the 
animal  heat  that  live  ones  do,  and  are  apt  to  have 
46 


an  undesirable  effect  upon  the  egg  next  to  it,  either 
under  the  hen  or  in  the  incubator. 

An  unfertile  egg — one  which  has  not  been  im- 
pregnated, and  in  which  life  will  never  start  or 
develop — is  clear  when  shown  at  the  tester.  This 
egg  under  the  powerful  lens  of  a  first-class  tester, 
will  show  the  yelk,  which  must  not  be  mistaken 
for  a  doubtful  or  fertile  egg. 

Use  only  the  very  best  egg- tester. 


HOW  THE  CHICKS  DEVELOP. 


Fig.  7  shows  the  heart  and  minute  arteries  and 
veins  in  a  circle  on  the  yelk  which  is  enclosed  in  a 
thin  sac.  They  are  plainly  seen  by  the  naked  eye 
when  a  strong  fertile  egg  is  carefully  broken  into  a 


saucer  or  plate,  after  thirty-six  hours'  incubation.  It 
should  be  done  in  a  warm  room,  and  in  a  strong 
light,  when  the  pulsations  of  the  heart  will  continue 
from  five  to  ten  minutes,  and  may  be  counted. 
Blood  can  be  seen  in  the  veins,  but  very  faintly. 
The  veins  gradually  surround  the  yelk.  The  chick 
derives  nourishment  from  the  yelk  during  incuba- 


tion,   and    what    is    left   of  it  is  drawn  into  the 
abdomen  just  before  hatching. 

Fig.  8  represents  the  interior  of  the  incubating 
egg  on  the  fifth  or  sixth  day,  when  the  live  -germ 
can  be  seen  with  a  tester  moving  up  and  down  and 
around,  and  will  float  to  the  top  when  the  egg  is 
laid  on  its  side.  In  testing,  the  large  end  of  the 
egg  is  held  up,  as  in  Fig.  i,  which  shows  exactly 
how  the  egg  looks  in  the  tester,  through  the  shell. 
48 


Fig.  8  is  seen  with  shell  partly  removed,  or  with 
the  egg  broken  into  a  saucer. 

Fig.  9  shows  appearance  on  ^seventh  to  eighth 
day. 

Fig.  10  represents  the  tenth  day,  when  eggs 
should  be  tested  the  second  time. 

Fig.  1 1  shows  the  development  on  the  fourteenth 


day.     Notice  the  increased  air  space  at  the  different 
stages. 

Fig.  12,  the  sixteenth  day. 

Fig.  13,  the  eighteenth  day,  the  yelk  being 
nearly  absorbed. 

Fig.  5  shows  the  egg  from  the  nineteenth  to  the 
twentieth  day,  when  the  chick  is  breaking  the 
shell.  At  this  stage  the  yelk  should  be  entirely 
absorbed.  The  chick  turns  around  in  the  shell, 
breaking  as  it  goes. 

49 


Fig.  6  shows  the  shell  parted  and  the  chick 
ready  to  come  forth. 

As  the  yelk  is  the  principal  nourishment  of  the 
chick  during  incubation,  it  is  desirable  that  the  egg 
be  perfectly  fresh  as  well  as  well  fertilized.  The 
last  part  of  the  yelk  absorbed  is  food  for  the  chick 
for  from  twenty-four  to  thirty-six  hours  after 
hatching. 


Stale  eggs,  though  fertile,  will  not  make  hardy 
chicks  ;  if  they  do  hatch,  the  percentage  will  be 
small. 

Break  a  few  eggs  that  are  not  fresh,  on  a  plate, 
and  you  will  notice  that  in  most  of  them  the  sac 
which  confines  the  yelk  will  break  and  allow  the 
yelk  to  mix  with  the  white.  A  few  which,  being 
very  carefully  broken,  retain  the  sac  unbroken, 
50 


present  a  mottled  appearance  and  spread  out  flat, 
unlike  the  yelk  of  a  fresh  egg,  which  stands  up  and 
looks  firm. 

If  the  yelk  is  not  in  first  class  condition  it  will 
not  make  a  first-class  chick.  When  eggs  are  stale 
many  chicks  will  die  in  the  shell  on  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  days  of  incubation,  even  when 
strongly  fertilized. 


Deformed  chicks  are  due  to  stale  eggs,  eggs 
irom  ill-conditioned  stock,  and  overheat.  Over- 
heat will  sometimes  cause  the  chicks  to  break  the 
shell  before  the  yelk  is  entirely  absorbed,  and  if 
you  help  them  out  in  that  case  they  will  die. 

Insufficient  air  space  will  prevent  a  chick  from 
turning  in  the  shell  and  from  getting  out. 

When  eggs  have  been  crowded  and  some  of  the 


shells  are  broken  almost  around  yet  the  chicks  do 
not  break  out  with  the  majority  in  due  time,  you 
may  then  pull  the  shell  gently  apart,  but  leave  the 
chick  to  free  itself ;  for  a  chick  which  cannot  free 
itself  is  not  worth  keeping. 


'fe  ja tfcq;.  tfc  tp  ife  cfr  <fe  tfe  sfe  cfc  <fe  « 


•D 


53 


ANIMAL  HEAT. 

Animal  heat  during  incubation  is  not  noticeable 
until  about  the  tenth  day,  though  a  fresh,  strongly 
fertilized  egg,  having  been  subjected  to  a  tempera- 
ture of  103°  for  thirty-six  hours,  and  then  broken 
in  a  saucer,  will  reveal  a  live,  pulsating  heart,  the 
beats  of  which  may  be  counted,  and  it  will  make 
about  sixty  before  it  stops  or  dies. 

As  the  animal  heat  increases  less  artificial  heat 
is  required  to  keep  up  the  proper  temperature  in 
the  egg  chamber.  On  this  account  it  is  generally 
necessary  to  occasionally  adjust  the  regulator  a 
little  the  last  week  of  incubation  ;  but  the  lamp 
flame  or  flames  should  be  gradually  (a  little  at  a 
time)  lowered  if  it  appears  that  you  are  using  more 
flame  than  is  necessary  to  supply  just  a  little  sur- 
plus heat. 

Although  it  does  not  require  as  much  artificial 
heat  during  the  latter  part  of  the  hatch  to  keep  up 
the  right  temperature,  it  should  be  distinctly  under- 
stood, that  the  temperature  must  be  kept  up  just 
the  same  as  at  the  first  part  until  every  hatchable 
egg  is  hatched.  [See  When  Hatching.] 


WHEN  HATCHING. 


When  the  chicks  are  breaking  and  coming  out 
of  the  shells,  remember  that  the  doors  of  the  incu- 
bator should  not  be  opened  but  twice  in  a  day,  to 
take  out  chicks  that  have  hatched  and  are  dry. 

54 


Also  remember  that  when  you  take  out  a  lot  of 
chicks  you  take  with  them  a  lot  of  animal  heat, 
and  you  should  raise  the  lamp  flame  a  little,  for 
the  temperature  must  be  kept  up  to  the  same  point 
until  the  hatch  is  finished,  if  you  want  the  best 
results. 


DEAD  IN  THE  SHELL. 


Why  do  chicks  die  in  the  shell ;  what  is  the 
cause  of  it  ? 

This  question  is  asked  again  and  again  in  all  the 
poultry  papers.  It  is  asked  not  only  in  regard  to 
those  that  die  in  the  mechanical  or  artificial  incu- 
bator, but  those  also  that  die  in  the  shell  while 
under  the  sitting  hens,  ducks,  turkeys,  geese,  etc. 
But  the  person  who  has  just  commenced  running 
an  artificial  incubator,  loses  sight  of  this  fact,  and 
thinks  that  if  some  eggs  hatch,  every  in  egg  the 
machine  should  hatch,  or  that  certainly  all  eggs 
which  start  to  incubate  should  bring  out  chicks. 

While  in  a  great  many  instances  the  majority  of 
cases  of  "  dead  in  the  shell ' '  may  be  justly  charged 
to  the  incubator  or  the  sitting  hen,  it  is  not  always  so. 

Again,  though  there  are  first-class  incubators 
which  do  hatch  well,  it  must  not  be  taken  for 
granted  that  all  incubators  are  good.  There  are 
good  and  bad  incubators  as  there  are  good  and 
bad  hens  and  good  and  bad  eggs. 

The  fact  that  some  hens  steal  their  nest  and  bring 
out  a  chick  from  every  egg,  or  do  nearly  that  well, 
55 


XAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAX 


is  no  proof  that  it  was  on  account  of  having  had 
their  own  way.  Other  hens  steal  their  nest  and 
only  hatch  one  or  two  chicks  ;  sometimes  they  fail 
to  hatch  any.  A  hen  that  steals  her  nest  generally 
sits  on  the  eggs  laid  by  herself.  If  her  eggs  are 
strongly  fertilized,  and  she  is  a  good  sitter  and  has 
a  good  place  to  sit,  she  will  bring  off  a  good  hatch. 
If  the  eggs  are  not  well  fertilized  she  does  not 
make  a  good  hatch,  but  brings  out  perhaps  six, 
two,  or  no  chicks.  The  unhatched  eggs  may 
prove  all  unfertile,  or  most  of  the  chicks  may  be 
dead  in  the  shell. 

What  is  the  cause  ? 

On  the  first  event  no  impregnation ;  in  the  sec- 
ond, imperfect  or  weak  fertilization.  A  bad  sitter 
or  poor  incubator  might  cause  the  same  result  with 
good  eggs. 

When  a  good,  quiet  hen  sits  steadily  on  fifteen 
fertile  eggs  and  hatches  seven  of  them,  is  it  not 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  other  eight  must 
have  differed  somehow,  in  quality,  at  the  begin- 
ning, or  they,  too,  would  have  hatched?  All 
having  been  subjected  to  the  same  conditions  and 
treatment,  why  did  not  all  hatch,  or  else  all  fail  to 
hatch — all  being  fertile  or  containing  the  germ 
of  life? 

The  answers  to  this  question  are  legion  ;  but 
most  writers  agree  that  it  was  lack  of  vigor  in  the 
germ,  traceable  to  the  parent  stock,  or  to  a  mal- 
condition  of  the  laying  stock,  which  produced  the 
eggs.  Had  all  the  eggs  failed  to  hatch  we  might 
reasonably  suspect  that  the  sitting  hen  had  neglected 
56 


her  nest  ;  but  as  seven  of  them  hatched,  the  sit- 
ting hen  is  clear  of  blame,  for  the  seven  chicks 
could  not  have  been  produced  without  the  favor- 
able conditions  for  incubation  to  which  they  were 
subjected  together  with  those  which  failed  to  hatch. 
Is  it  not  plain  that  something  was  wrong  with  the 
eggs  which  contained  chicks,  in  all  stages  of 
development,  but  failed  to  hatch  ?  If  the  incu- 
bator (hen)  was  wrong,  none  would  have  hatched  ; 
if  all  of  the  eggs  were  right,  all  would  have  hatched. 
Now,  the  causes  of  unfertile  and  imperfectly  fer- 
tilized or  weak  eggs  are  numerous,  but  easily 
removed  or  guarded  against,  provided  we  know 
what  they  are. 

Too  close  inbreeding  will  make  weak  offspring. 
Inbreeding  is  excellent  to  a  limited  degree,  but 
must  not  be  carried  beyond  a  few  generations,  it 
stamina  and  vigor  are  to  be  retained. 

Over-fat  hens  do  not  produce  eggs  that  will 
hatch  well  ;  no  matter  how  good  the  male  may 
be,  the  germs  do  not  seem  to  receive  the  proper 
nourishment  to  develop  strength  to  break  out  of 
prison,  even  if  they  grow  to  full  size. 

Stale  eggs,  however  vigorous  they  may  have 
been,  do  not  hatch  well. 

Eggs  may  be  both  fertile  and  fresh,  yet  lack  the 
vigor  required  to  develop  a  chick. 

Hens  over  two  years  old  take  on  fat  too  easily, 
besides  losing  qualities  requisite  to  good  breeders. 
This  is  the  rule.  Of  course  there  are  exceptions ; 
but  you  had  better  go  by  the  rule  than  by  the 
exception. 

57 


Some  cocks  retain  a  fair  amount  of  vigor  and 
procreative  power  after  the  second  year,  but  nine 
out  of  ten  do  not. 

If  you  want  eggs  to  hatch  well  and  to  get  the 
maximum  profit  from  your  poultry  business,  kill 
all  the  males  and  females  at  two  years  of  age. 
Don't  keep  a  fowl  simply  because  it  is  fine  look- 
ing. You  cannot  afford  to  keep  simply  orna- 
mental birds  in  your  flocks. 

Fowls  in  too  close  confinement  lose  their  vigor, 
and  that,  together  with  the  practice  of  keeping 
fowls  that  are  too  old,  is  what  causes  nine- 
tenths  of  the  "dead  in  the  shell"  cases  which 
owe  their  origin  to  the  breeding  stock.  Some 
people  think  a  yard  ten  by  twelve  feet  is  large 
enough  for  the  accommodation  of  a  dozen  fowls. 
They  must  have  a  reasonable  amount  of  exercise. 

As  there  are  two  classes  of  poultry  raisers,  there 
are  two  ways  to  effect  a  remedy. 

The  man  who  must  raise  his  poultry  on  a  limited 
area  of  ground,  should  keep  fewer  fowls.  Is  it  not 
better  to  keep  one  hundred  fowls  from  which  you 
can  produce  eggs  that  will  hatch  from  seventy-five 
to  ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the  fertile  ones  (seventy- 
five  per  cent,  of  all  being  fertile),  than  to  house, 
feed  and  care  for  two  hundred  fowls  to  produce 
eggs  of  which  fifty  per  cent,  are  unfertile,  and  only 
from  thirty  to  forty-five  per  cent,  of  the  fertile  eggs 
hatch?  Wriggle  around  it  as  you  please,  you 
cannot  disregard  this  advice  and  succeed. 

Those  who  have  large  tracts  of  land,  but,  because 
of  keeping  several  breeds  or  varieties  of  fowls,  are 
58 


obliged  to  keep  them  in  yards,  should  either 
enlarge  their  yards  beyond  (apparently)  all  reason, 
or  at  least  beyond  any  size  you  ever  saw  before, 
and  allow  plenty  of  range  for  exercise  and  cleanli- 
ness, or  reduce  the  number  of  varieties,  and  give 
each  yard  of  fowls  an  extra  grassy  yard  to  pasture 
in  for  two  hours  each  day;  or,  better  still,  keep 
but  one  variety  and  make  kindling  wood  of  your 
fences.  Colonize  your  flocks  on  the  Stoddard 
"no  fence"  plan,  and  you  will  have  eggs  that, 
with  proper  assignment  and  division  of  males  and 
females  (fowls),  will  show  up  ninety  per  cent,  of 
fertility,  and,  in  good  incubators,  produce  from 
eighty  to  ninety- eight  per  cent,  of  strong,  healthy 
chicks. 

How  do  we  know  ? 

We  have  done  it.  The  proof  of  the  pudding  is 
in  eating  it. 

Now  let  us  look  at  a  few  other  causes  of  chickens 
dying  in  the  shell ;  for  you  know  it  is  quite  possible 
to  kill  a  vigorous  germ  or  even  a  full  grown  chick 
by  improper  treatment.  A  poorly  contrived  incu- 
bator or  a  bad  hen  can  easily  destroy  the  life  in  the 
shell  at  any  stage  of  incubation  ;  or  a  careless  or 
headstrong  operator  of  a  good  incubator  can  spoil 
the  hatch  by  what  may  seem  to  him  a  very  insig- 
nificant deviation  from  the  instructions  of  the 
maker  of  the  machine. 

Too  much  or  too  little  moisture,  heat  or  ventila- 
tion may  ruin  a  hatch.  Lack  of  moisture  at  the 
time  it  is  needed,  or  excess  of  moisture  when  none 
is  needed  will  injure  or  destroy  life  in  the  hatcher. 
59 


If  the  machine  is  deficient  in  any  of  these  particu- 
lars, do  not  use  it,  but  get  one  that  you  can  depend 
upon. 

You  will  also  remember-  that  eggs  of  various 
breeds  vary  considerably  in  shell,  some  shells 
being  thin  and  porous,  some  thick,  yet  porous, 
while  others  are  thick  and  dense  or  hard,  and  still 
others  are  hard  and  thin. 

The  treatment  of  these  various  shells  is  of 
importance,  but  will  be  discussed  under  the  head 
of  "  moisture." 

Chilling  the  eggs,  especially  during  the  last 
part  of  the  hatch  or  while  chicks  are  breaking  the 
shell,  causes  many  to  die  in  the  shell.  See  article 
on  testing  eggs. 

Right  here  a  little  plain  talk  may  be  of  some 
value. 

In  almost  every  poultry  paper  you  will  find  com- 
plaints and  queries  about  chicks  dying  in  the  shell. 
The  correspondents,  as  a  rule,  wish,  to  know  the 
cause  and  the  remedy.  If  the  editor  knows  the 
cause  he  does  not  hesitate  to  prescribe  a  remedy  ; 
but  there  is  where  the  trouble  comes  in.  If  we  call 
in  a  physician  to  treat  a  case  of  illness,we  give  him 
an  exact  history  of  the  case  and  all  the  symptoms 
and  particulars  ;  otherwise  he  could  not  prescribe 
to  our  advantage. 

Are  all  poultrymen  careful  to  do  likewise  when 
they  ask  advice  from  a  poultry  editor  or  expert,  qr 
incubator  manufacturer  ? 

We  say  no  !  Many  of  them  do  not  know,  or  fail 
to  mention  the  fact  that  a  visitor  "  monkeyed ' '  with 
60 


the  regulator,  or  that  on  one  certain  day  they  for- 
got to  fill  the  incubator  lamps  and  the  lights  were 
out  for  fourteen  hours  ;  or  that  they  forgot  about 
turning  the  eggs,  or  left  them  out  to  air  while  attend- 
ing something  else,  and  they  got  chilled  ;  or  that 
they  forgot  to  put  in  moisture  at  the  proper  time  ; 
that  one  of  the  children  slipped  into  the  incubator 
room  and  turned  the  lamp  up  or  down,  or  put  it 
out ;  or  that  a  neighbor,  who  was  looking  at  the 
machine,  forgot  to  close  the  doors  of  the  incubator ; 
or  that  the  attendant  accidentally  set  a  tray,  stick 
or  some  other  trifle  on  the  top  of  the  machine  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  cover  or  rest  on  the  closed 
valve  of  the  heat  escape,  and  the  temperature  got 
up  to  1 10°  before  it  was  discovered.  It  is  folly  to 
omit  or  conceal  these  facts  when  they  are  known 
to  the  party  who  asks  advice,  because  it  cheats  him- 
self out  of  the  chance  of  obtaining  the  remedy  he 
seeks. 

As  we  have  intimated  above,  many  poultrymen 
fail  to  give  exact  details,  either  because  they  have 
failed  to  see  or  notice  some  of  them,  or  because 
they  think  they  are  not  important  ;  and  while  we 
cannot  advise  them  with  as  good  effect  as  if  we 
knew  the  real  state  of  affairs,  they  cannot  be  said 
to  deliberately  deceive. 

But  what  about  that  class  of  individuals  who  are 
so  foolish  as  to  deliberately  lie  when  presenting 
their  case  of  failure  to  the  maker  of  the  incubator, 
which  they  happen  to  be  using  ?  What  help  can  a 
man  hope  to  get,  who,  having  bought  a  lot  of 
store  eggs  which  produce  forty  per  cent,  of  weak 
61 


chicks  and  sixty  per  cent,  dead  in  the  shell,  in  his 
incubator,  into  which  he  placed  all  the  eggs  he 
bought,  when  he  writes  to  the  maker  of  the 
machine  as  follows:  "My  hatch  was  forty  per 
cent,  of  sickly  looking  chicks,  and  the  balance  of 
the  eggs  had  dead  chicks  in  them — some  seeming 
to  have  died  on  the  tenth  day  and  others  at  various 
stages  of  development,  many  being  full  grown  and 
just  ready  to  hatch.  I  cannot  understand  it,  as  the 
same  eggs  placed  under  hens  hatched  ninety- eight 
per  cent.  I  followed  your  directions  to  the 
letter." 

Now  if  the  manufacturer  knows  from  years  of 
severe  test  that  his  machine  will  always  hatch  a 
good  per  cent,  of  halchable  eggs,  every  time,  when 
operated  by  his  directions,  he  also  knows  to  a  cer- 
tainty that  his  correspondent  either  failed  to  oper- 
ate the  machine  as  directed,  or  that  his  statement 
about  hatching  some  of  the  same  lot  of  eggs  under 
hens  is  false.  He  knows  it  as  certainly  as  the 
painter  would  know  that  we  were  speaking  falsely 
if  we  told  him  that  by  mixing  equal  proportions  of 
red  and  blue  we  produced  green.  Suppose  we 
did  write  such  a  statement  to  a  painter,  and  asked 
his  advice,  assuring  him  that  our  neighbor  had 
used  the  same  colors  and  produced  purple.  Would 
he  not  know  beyond  a  possibility  of  a  doubt  that 
either  we  were  color  blind,  or  liars,  or  fools,  or  that 
we  thought  him  a  fool  when  we  presumed  that  he 
would  not  know  any  better  than  to  believe  the 
statement. 

All  the  advice  he  could  give  us  would  be  to  dis- 
62 


card  the  yellow  (which  we  called  red)  and  replace 
it  with  red  if  we  wished  to  produce  purple  by  mix- 
ing with  blue.  And  so  would  the  maker  of  the 
good  incubator  have  to  tell  his  correspondent  to 
hunt  up  a  lot  of  fresh  eggs  from  a  place  where  the 
breeding  stock  is  healthy,  vigorous  and  mated  with 
good  proportion  of  males. 

Other  parties  who  have  really  first-class  hatch- 
able  eggs,  imagine  that  they  can  improve  on  the 
directions  which  are  sent  with  the  incubator  (not 
having  given  those  directions  one  fair  trial)  and 
will  run  the  machine  to  suit  themselves,  and  when 
they  kill  a  lot  of  chicks  in  the  shell,  condemn 
either  the  eggs  or  the  incubator.  If  they  write  for 
advise,  they  tell  the  truth  about  the  eggs,  but  omit 
to  mention  the  fact  that  they  paid  no  attention  to 
directions.  Some  of  them,  we  regret  to  say,  will 
even  assert  that  they  did  follow  the  directions. 

These  persons  are  as  foolish  as  the  man  who, 
suffering  with  cholera  morbus,  would  tell  the 
physician  that  he  had  toothache. 


PERIODS  OF  INCUBATION. 


Chickens,  twenty-one  days  ;  ducks,  twenty-eight 
days ;  geese,  thirty  days  ;  turkeys,  twenty- eight 
days  ;  Guinea  fowls,  twenty-five  days  ;  pea  fowls, 
twenty-eight  days  ;  pheasants,  twenty- five  days  ; 
partridges,  twenty-four  days  ;  ostriches,  forty  to 
forty- two  days. 

In  connection  with  the  above  table  we  should 
remember  that  a  strictly  fresh  laid  egg  will  hatch 

63 


several  hours  earlier  than  a  stale  one,  and  that  the 
fresh  eggs  of  some  breeds  of  the  same  species  of 
fowls  will  also  hatch  from  twelve  to  forty-eight 
hours  earlier  than  those  of  other  breeds,  under  the 
same  conditions. 

Some  hens  sit  closer  on  the  eggs  and  keep  the 
temperature  more  regular  than  others  do.  These 
hens  generally  bring  off  their  chicks  in  due  time. 
Other  hens  are  poor  sitters,  do  not  settle  down  on 
the  eggs  nicely,  and  frequently  vacate  the  nest. 
Such  hens  are  sometimes  one  or  two  days  later 
than  schedule  time  in  completing  their  hatch. 

The  same  principle  applies  to  incubators.  Those 
which  maintain  an  even  condition  of  requisite  heat, 
moisture  and  ventilation,  will,  if  the  eggs  are  all 
right,  complete  the  hatch  on  time  ;  while  the  irreg- 
ular machine,  now  hot  and  then  cold,  now  dry 
and  then  moist,  will  of  course  be  behind  time. 


MOISTURE  IN  HATCHING. 


How  much  moisture  should  be  used  in  an  incu- 
bator ? 

Why  not  ask,  "  How  much  lumber  will  it  take 
to  build  a  house?"  The  question  is  as  compre- 
hensive. 

The  question  of  how  much  moisture  should  be 
used  in  an  incubator,  never  has  been  fully  and  cor- 
rectly answered. 

"Oh,  yes,  it  has!"  exclaims  somebody,  "Mr. 
A.  says  he  uses  no  moisture  at  all  ;  B.,  none  until 
the  fourth  day  ;  C.,  none  until  the  seventh  ;  D., 
64 


none  until  the  tenth  ;  E.,  until  the  sixteenth  ;  F., 
until  the  nineteenth.  G.  uses  water  surface  equal 
to  three-fourths  the  area  of  the  egg  chamber  ;  H., 
five-eighths;  I.,  one-half;  J.,  three-eighths;  K., 
one- fourth ;  L.,  one-fifth  ;  M.,  one- twelfth.  N.  will 
evaporate  twelve  quarts  of  water  in  the  egg  cham- 
ber during  one  hatch  ;  O.  will  evaporate  one  pint. 

Any  one  of  the  above  may  be  exactly  right  for 
some  incubator,  at  some  particular  time,  in  some 
certain  place,  climate  or  season,  and  with  certain 
kind  of  eggs,  and  it  may  never,  in  the  experience 
of  the  operator,  be  right  again. 

How  then  are  we  to  know  the  amount  of  moisture 
to  use  ?  If  it  is  right  at  one  time,  why  not  always  ? 

It  might  be  right  always .  with  one  particular 
incubator  and  the  same  kind  of  eggs,  if  the  tem- 
perature and  humidity  of  the  outside  atmosphere 
were  always  the  same  ;  but  you  know  that  is  not 
the  case.  You  cannot  find  two  periods  of  three 
weeks  each  in  which  the  twenty-one  days  of  one 
will  even  average  the  same  as  the  twenty- one  days 
of  the  other,  in  any  location,  in  a  lifetime.  There- 
fore there  must  be  a  vast  difference  in  hatching, 
both  with  incubators  and  with  hens. 

For  instance,  we  take  a  hot  water  incubator 
which  has  an  opening  valve  for  the  escape  of  hot  air 
from  the  egg  chamber  when  the  heat  rises  above  a 
given  point.  No  matter  what  size  the  opening 
may  be,  how  large  or  small  the  moisture  pans,  or 
when  the  moisture  pans  are  filled,  on  a  hot  day  or 
when  the  lamp  flame  has  been  a  little  too  high, 
this  valve  or  escape  will  open,  and  from  ten  to 
65 


twenty  times  as  much  air  will  be  circulated  through 
the  egg  chamber  as  there  was  the  day  previous  or 
on  a  cooler  day,  and  the  next  day  it  may  be  more 
or  it  may  be  less. 

If  there  is  no  water  in  the  moisture  pans  on  the 
very  warm  day,  then  there  is  from  ten  to  twenty 
times  the  amount  of  evaporation  from  the  eggs  ;  if 
the  pans  are  filled,  you  will  not  have  the  same 
amount  of  moisture  when  the  valve  is  open  as  you 
have  when  it  is  closed. 

Let  us  suppose,  for  argument  sake,  that  we 
have  more  moisture  in  the  egg  chamber  with  the 
valve  closed  than  with  it  open ;  then,  when  the 
valve  opens  to  cool  off  the  egg  chamber,  the 
moisture  escapes  with  the  heat,  and  we  have  from 
ten-fold  to  twenty-fold  reduction  of  moisture  on  the 
hot  day,  or  when  the  machine  is  overheated. 

But  suppose  we  say  that  when  the  valve  is  open 
there  is  from  ten  to  twenty  times  as  much  water 
evaporated  as  there  would  be  with  it  closed,  and 
that  this  water  or  moisture  passes  over  the  eggs  ; 
then  we  have  practically  from  ten  to  twenty  times 
as  much  moisture  with  the  valve  open  as  we  have 
with  it  closed. 

Clearly  we  cannot  have  the  same  amount  of 
moisture  with  an  open  valve  as  with  it  closed — no 
matter  which  condition  of  valve  gives  the  most, 
and,  as  this  valve  may  open  and  close  once  a  day 
or  fifty  times  a  day,  how  is  it  possible  to  maintain 
an  even  condition  or  degree  of  moisture  in  an  egg 
chamber  which  is  thus  "  regulated  ?" 

Then  why  use  a  moisture  gauge  ? 
66 


A  moisture  gauge  of  the  best  make  will  show 
that  the  humidity  of  the  egg  chamber  fluctuates  as 
we  have  stated,  under  the  said  conditions. 

Wherever  there  is  a  circulation  of  air  in  the  egg 
chamber — and  there  must  be  a  circulation  of  fresh 
air  to  hatch  successfully — there  will  be  some  varia- 
tion of  humidity,  because  the  humidity  of  the  out- 
side atmosphere  changes,  and  it  is  this  outside  air 
which  furnishes  the  fresh  air  for  the  egg  chamber  ; 
but  with  the  valve  closed  the  variation  is  reduced 
to  a  minimum  degree. 

The  modern  hot  air  incubator  has  no  use  for  the 
big  trap-door  valve  opening  from  the  egg  chamber 
of  most  hot  water  machines,  because  the  heat  is 
controlled  in  the  heater  or  hot  air  reservoir  before 
it  reaches  the  egg  chamber  ;  but  it  has  a  circula- 
tion of  fresh  air  in  the  egg  chamber  by  means  of 
bottom  ventilators  and  small  outlet  at  top.  These 
inlets  and  outlet  are  always  open  and  always  the 
same,  so  that  the  variation  is  reduced  to  a  mini- 
mum, being  about  equal  to  the  variation  in  the  best 
hot-water  machines  with  its  valve  closed. 

The  variation  of  humidity  in  the  best  hot- water 
machine  with  closed  valve  and  in  the  best  hot-air 
machine  just  as  it  always  is,  is  from  ten  to  twenty 
times  less  than  when  a  large  valve  is  being  opened 
and  closed  from  the  egg  chamber  every  now  and 
then,  as  described,  and  the  causes  for  the  minimum 
variation  which  cannot  be  entirely  overcome  are 
two,  the  variation  in  humidity  of  outside  atmos- 
phere and  the  variation  of  temperature  of  outside 
air. 

67 


We  all  know  that  heat  ascends.  As  long  as  the 
air  in  the  egg  chamber  is  warmer  than  that  outside, 
the  heat  of  the  egg  chamber  will  seek  an  outlet, 
and  the  colder  the  outside  temperature  the  faster 
the  current  of  air  will  circulate  through  the  incu- 
bator (the  greater  the  volume  of  air  that  will  pass 
through  in  a  given  time),  but  the  moment  the  out- 
side temperature  gets  as  warm  as  that  of  the  egg 
chamber  the  current  ceases.  Then  it  follows  that 
more  air  passes  through  the  egg  chamber  on  a  cold 
day  than  on  a  warm  one,  consequently  there  is 
more  moisture  supplied  from  the  outside  on  a  cool, 
damp  day  than  on  a  warm,  dry  one. 

When  you  look  at  all  these  facts  and  think  ot 
the  difference  in  incubators,  the  wonderful  variety 
of  climates  and  altitudes  on  this  vast  continent,  the 
different  kinds  of  shells  which  envelop  the  eggs — 
thick,  hard  shell,  thin,  hard  shell,  thick  porous, 
and  thin  porous — each  requiring  different  treat- 
ment (the  hard  shell  requiring  more  moisture  than 
the  porous  shell),  you  will  appreciate  the  difficulty 
of  giving  a  direct  answer  to  the  question  of 
"  How  much  moisture  should  be  used  in  an  incu- 
bator? "  It  is  impossible,  in  the  ordinary  instruc- 
tions which  accompany  an  incubator,  to  give 
directions  which  will  fit  every  case  in  every 
locality,  therefore  the  incubator  manufacturer  who 
would  conscientiously  perform  his  duty  to  each  of 
his  patrons  must  have  an  actual  knowledge, 
which  can  only  be  acquired  by  actual  experience, 
of  the  action  and  requirements  of  his  own  incubator 
in  the  various  altitudes  and  climates  of  this  country 
68 


under  the  various  conditions  of  the  seasons. 
Having  gained  this  experience  he  can  then  give 
directions  with  each  incubator  to  suit  the  locality 
to  which  it  is  sent.  These  directions  would  (or 
should)  be  such  as  will  give  the  best  average 
results  with  that  particular  machine  in  that 
locality. 

For  the  benefit  of  new  acquaintances  who  may 
wish  to  inquire  if  we  practice  what  we  preach,  we 
will  state  that  during  the  years  of  our  experiment- 
ing we  paid  our  compliments  personally  to  the 
chief  points  of  interest  lying  between  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  oceans,  the  great  Northern  lakes  and 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico — not  making  a  flying  trip,  but 
spending  months  and  sometimes  years  in  climates 
and  altitudes  of  peculiar  interest  to  poultrymen 
who  practice  artificial  incubation  and  brooding. 

As  we  have  said,  follow  the  printed  directions 
sent  with  the  incubator,  and  then  at  your  leisure 
study  and  experiment  for  yourself.  If  you  find 
that  the  manufacturer's  directions  give  satisfactory 
results,  the  knowledge  you  have  acquired  from 
study  and  experiment  will  enable  you  to  see  why 
they  do ;  and  if,  on  the  contrary,  they  do  not 
satisfy  you,  you  may  then  be  able  to  improve  upon 
them. 

Someone  will  say,  "What  a  lot  of  fuss  about 
moisture  !  Let  me  give  you  the  whole  thing  in  a 
nutshell.  Find  out  just  what  degree  of  humidity 
is  needed  in  the  egg  chamber  for  each  week  or 
day,  make  slide  covers  for  your  moisture  pans, 
place  a  hygrometer  or  moisture  gauge  in  the  egg 
69 


chamber  and  hang  up  your  moisture  schedule  beside 
the  machine.  When  you  want  more  moisture  slide 
open  the-  covers,  and  when  you  want  less,  close 
them.  Isn't  that  simple  ?  " 

Yes,  dear  friend,  wiser  heads  than  yours  or  ours 
thought  of  that  years  ago,  but  it  would  not  work 
then,  and  it  will  not  work  now. 

Why? 

For  various  reasons  ;  among  them  :  the  Great 
Ruler  of  the  Universe  will  not  permit  us  to  slide 
the  covers  of  His  moisture  pans  ;  and  while  we  are 
obliged  to  circulate  fresh  air  in  the  egg  chambers 
of  our  machines,  we  are  obliged  to  have  it  more  or 
less  humid  or  dry,  just  as  it  comes  from  the  breath 
of  nature. 

The  hygrometer  is  useful  to  experiment  with,  pro- 
vided it  is  a  good  one,  but  few  of  those  which  are 
sold  to  poultrymen  are  reliable. 

Still  someone  says,  "Well,  I  know  that  the 
humidity  of  the  atmosphere  varies  some,  but  I  still 
believe  I  can  work  it  with  the  moisture  gauge  and 
the  sliding  covers  on  moisture  pans." 

Very  well,  we  will  ask  you  for  one  demonstration, 
and  if  you  make  that  satisfactory,  we  will  ask  for 
one  or  two  more — but  one  will  probably  be  all  you 
want  at  a  time. 

Let  us  suppose  that  you  conclude  that  you  want 
thirty  degrees  of  moisture  in  the  egg  chamber  the 
first  week,  thirty- five  the  second  and  part  of  the 
third,  with  ninety  degrees  from  the  pipping  of  the 
first  egg  ?  All  right.  We  will  take  for  granted 
that  your  gauge  is  correct.  Well,  here  we  are  at 
70 


the  beginning  of  the  first  week.  You  have  not 
yet  put  any  water  in  your  pans  but  your  moisture 
gauge  indicates  sixty-five  degrees  of  humidity,  and 
your  thermometer  one  hundred  and  three  degrees 
of  temperature.  What  is  the  matter  ;  why  don't 
you  reduce  the  humidity?  You  place  another 
moisture  gauge  in  the  room  where  you  operate 
your  incubator,  and  you  find  that  the  humidity 
there  is  ninety  degrees.  You  hang  a  gauge  in  the 
open  air  out  of  doors  and  it  registers  ninety-five 
degrees.  You  only  want  thirty  degrees  in  the  egg 
chamber ;  how  are  you  going  to  reduce  it  to  thirty  ? 

There  are  some  places  in  which,  at  certain  times, 
some  kinds  of  eggs  «an  be  hatched  without  addi- 
tional moisture,  in  certain  incubators,  but  the 
attempt  would  result  in  failure  at  other  seasons. 

It  is  surprising  how  little  some  manufacturers  of 
incubators  know  about  moisture.  When  you 
attend  a  show  where  incubators  are  on  exhibition 
question  the  several  exhibitors  on  moisture.  The 
machines  are  generally  managed  by  the  manufact- 
urers or  inventors — or  the  purchasers  of  some 
almost  defunct  patents. 

While  exhibiting  at  the  World's  Fair,  Chicago, 
'93,  we  were  astonished  at  the  replies  of  some 
of  the  manufacturers  and  exhibitors  when  asked 
"why  do  you  use  moisture?  What  is  it  for?" 
One  said,  "Oh,  the  hen  sweats  and  moistens  the 
eggs,  that  is  the  reason."  Another  said,  "We 
imitate  the  hen  ;  she  goes  off  in  the  grass  and  gets 
the  dew  on  her  feathers  and  dampens  the  eggs  ;  we 
must  supply  it.' '  Another  said,  * '  We  use  moisture 


to  rot  the  shell  of  the  eggs."      Another,   "The 
evaporation  of  the  water  purifies  the  air. ' ' 

We  supposed  that  everybody  knew  that  moisture 
is  used  in  an  incubator  to  prevent  undue  evapora- 
tion of  the  egg,  and  to  keep  the  skin  which  lines 
the  shell  from  becoming  dry  and  tough  while  the 
chicks  are  breaking  the  shells. 


HATCHING  DUCKS. 


Duck  eggs  require  about  the  same  treatment, 
during  incubation,  as  hen  eggs,  except  that  the 
addition  of  moisture  is  deferred  one  week.  Duck- 
lings are  longer  getting  out  of  the  shell  after 
it  is  broken  than  chicks  are — from  twenty-four  to 
forty-eight  hours  is  the  time  they  require  to  work 
their  way  out.  If,  after  waiting  forty-eight  hours 
after  the  eggs  are  pipped  and  ducklings  are  not  free, 
you  may  help  them  out  gently.  There  is  not  as 
much  danger  in  thus  helping  them  as  there  is  in 
assisting  chicks  out.  A  chick  which  cannot  free 
itself  from  the  shell  is  not  worth  saving,  but  a  duck- 
ling is.  Ducks  and  ducklings  should  have  water 
when  eating  and  water  to  drink  at  all  times.  Keep 
ducklings  from  bathing  or  getting  wet  until  feath- 
ered. Celery  fed  to  ducks  one  week  before  fattening 
is  supposed  to  improve  their  flavor.  In  killing  ducks 
hang  them  up  by  the  legs  and  extend  the  head  or 
bill  to  prevent  soiling  the  feathers.  With  a  sharp 
knife  cut  across  the  back  part  of  the  throat  and  up 
into  the  brain.  Ducks  are  easier  picked  when 
72 


scalded.  After  picking,  put  them  in  ice  water  until 
thoroughly  cooled.  N.  B. — Make  the  drinking  ves- 
sel deep  enough  for  the  duckling  to  wet  his  nostrils, 
or  they  will  become  clogged  with  dirt  or  soft  food 
and  make  him  sick. 


HATCHING  GEESE. 


Geese  develop  as  well  in  the  incubator  as  under 
geese  or  hens,  but  goslings  are  not  very  dexterous 
in  breaking  the  shell,  hence  many  are  lost,  because 
few  persons  know  how  to  help  the  process.  When 
the  hatch  is  due  hold  the  egg  in  a  strong  light 
and  try  to  see  where  the  gosling  is  tapping  the  shell, 
which  you  can  often  do.  Make  a  small  hole  with 
the  point  of  a  penknife,  and  if  no  blood  oozes  out 
make  another  hole  in  the  large  end  of  the  egg,  and 
chip  away  the  shell  between  the  two  points  first,  and 
then  gradually  break  away  enough  to  free  the  bird. 
If  you  cannot  see  where  the  bill  lies,  put  the  egg  in 
warm  water,  mark  the  spot  which  lies  uppermost, 
and  make  the  first  incision  there.  With  gentle  care 
nearly  all  may  be  saved.  Feed  goslings  the  same 
as  ducklings,  adding  green  food  early,  and  keep  out 
of  the  water  until  feathered. 


HATCHING  TURKEYS. 


There  is  no  difficulty  in  hatching  good  turkey 
eggs  in  a  good  incubator.  Treat  the  eggs  precisely 
as  you  would  hen  eggs,  except  that  the  moisture 

73 


must  not  be  added  until  a  week  later  than  directed 
for  hens'  eggs.  There  is  a  general  opinion  that 
young  turks  are  hard  to  raise,  but  the  great  diffi- 
culty is  that  few  persons  know  how  to  treat  them, 
and  others  do  not  have  a  large  range  for  them  from 
the  time  they  "  shoot  the  red  "  (the  head  begins  to 
turn  red)  until  they  get  their  growth.  Young  tur- 
keys must  be  kept  dry  until  they  show  the  red. 
Running  in  wet  grass,  or  exposure  to  rain,  will  re- 
tard their  growth  and  prove  fatal  to  many.  Brood 
them  as  you  would  chickens.  Their  food  for  the 
first  week  should  be  stale  bread  crumbs  (not  sour) 
soaked  in  milk.  Broken  water  crackers  soaked  in 
milk  for  a  variety.  Give  them  all  the  sweet  milk 
they  will  drink  (by  "sweet"  we  mean  new  milk). 
After  the  first  week  give  them  all  the  clabber  they 
will  eat,  but  do  not  scald  it.  In  addition  give  once 
a  day  a  small  feed  of  well  cooked  corn  meal,  some- 
times in  the  shape  of  mush,  and  again  as  baked  corn 
bread.  By  draining  the  clabber  through  a  cheese- 
cloth strainer  it  becomes  nice  and  crumbly,  and  is 
easily  picked  up.  Keep  them  in  brooding  yards 
until  about  eight  weeks  old,  then  give  as  much 
range  as  possible.  After  eight  weeks  give  no  sloppy 
food,  but  good  grain — corn  or  buckwheat  at  night, 
and  a  variety  of  food  in  the  morning.  They  will 
gather  at  least  half  of  their  living  in  the  insect  sea- 
son if  they  have  good  place  to  forage.  A  turkey  is 
unhappy  in  close  confinement  and  will  not  fatten  in 
a  pen  like  other  fowls.  Liberty  and  good  feeding 
will  give  the  weight  to  a  well  bred  bird. 


74 


75 


>444  44  4444  4444  4444444444444  444  4444  44  44  4444** 


76 


77 


HATCHING  OSTRICHES. 


HE  introduction  ol 
artificial  hatch- 
ing has  added 
materially  to  the 
profits  of  the 
ostrich  parks 
and  farms  of 
Africa,  Asia  and 
America.  S  i  t  - 
ting  is  injurious 
to  the  valuable 

plumage  of  the  parent  birds  ;  and  then  the  eggs 
may  be  used  for  hatching  without  consulting  the 
convenience  of  the  layers.  The  period  of  incuba- 
tion is  from  40  to  42  days,  and  little  more  care 
than  is  required  in  hatching  chickens  is  necessary 
in  hatching  ostriches.  The  young  birds  are  as 
tender  as  young  turkeys,  and  should  be  kept  in  the 
brooding  house  until  the  sun  has  dried  the  grass. 
They  must  also  be  returned  before  the  dew  falls. 
They  need  shade  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  but  the 
more  sunshine  they  get,  that  is  not  too  hot,  the 
better  they  will  thrive.  The  eggs  weigh  from  3^ 
to  3^  pounds,  and  one  before  us  measures  15^6 
inches  by  17^  inches  around  each  way.  They  are 
palatable  and  wholesome  when  boiled,  but  are  too 
precious  for  ordinary  table  use. 

The  African  ostrich  is  superior  in  size,  weight 
78 


and  quality  of  plumage  to  the  Cassoway  of  New 
Zealand,  the  Rhea  of  South  America,  or  the  Emu 
of  Australia,  and  is  the  kind  bred  on  the  Southern 
California  ostrich  farms  at  Anaheim  and  Fall 
Brook. 

The  first  successful  ostrich  farms  were  those  of 
the  Cape  in  Africa,  which  started  about  30  years 
ago.  Later  Madam  Carriere  established  a  series  of 
ostrich  parks  at  Kouba,  Algiers,  views  of  which 
were  drawn  by  M.  L,ouis  Say,  and  which,  through 
the  courtesy  of  Messrs.  Munn  &  Co.  of  the  Scien- 
tific American,  we  reproduce  here.  Some  idea  of 
the  development  of  ostrich  culture  may  be  drawn 
from  the  fact  that  the  number  of  adult  birds  on  the 
Cape  farms  in  1865  was  85;  in  1875,  32,000;  in 
1879,  160,000. 

E;.  &  c.  VON  CUUN, 

Publishers  of 

"  The  Art  of  Incubating  and  Brooding" 
Price  $1.00. 

DELAWARE  CITY,  ,  1894. 

Dear  Sir: — We  wish  to  illustrate  the  different  kinds  of 
incubators,  brooders  and  poultry  appliances.     Will  you 
please  send  us  cut  or  cuts  of  your  machine  or  machines, 
together  with  directions  for  operating  and  your  catalogue. 
No  cut  to  be  larger  than  3  by  3  inches. 
Please  be  prompt,  as  we  are  ready  and  waiting. 
Yours  respectfully, 

B.  &  C.  VON  CUUN. 

The  above  letter  was  mailed  to  forty  manufacturers 

of  incubators.     We  presume  they  all  received  it, 

as  none  were  returned,  though  our  printed  address 

was  on  each  envelope.    We  waited  a  month.    Five 

79 


responded  ;  some  of  them  sent  cuts,  but  only  one 
sent  directions  for  operating.  We  give  these  facts 
as  an  answer  to  those  who  may  wish  to  know  why 
we  have  not  described  all  incubators,  as  well  as  a 
few.  Without  directions  for  operating,  the  simple 
picture  of  the  exterior  of  a  machine,  is  no  more 
than  you  can  see  in  the  advertisements  in  poultry 
papers  and  in  the  catalogues  of  the  manufacturers. 


80 


cp  j^cp  sg  cp  gp  ^igP  ^  fifc  gp  cp  eg  cp  sp*!^  » 


FIG.  i. 


THE  THERMOSTATIC  INCUBATOR. 

The  Thermostatic  Incubator  was  patented  July 
31,  1877,  by  E.  S.  Renwick.  It  was  one  of  the 
finest  hot  water  incubators  made  in  its  day.  It  is 

81 


no  longer  manufactured.  The  prominent  and  best 
feature  was  its  valve  engine  with  a  chain  weight 
(similar  to  a  clock  weight)  for  its  motive  power. 
The  paddles  of  the  valve  engine  worked  in  water 
and  glycerine,  with  a  few  drops  of  carbolic  acid  to 
keep  it  from  spoiling.  N,  N,  were  water  foun- 
tains supplying  water  to  the  moisture  pans.  From 
i  to  2  quarts  was  evaporated  in  24  hours. 


FIG.  2. 

Fig.  2  shows  the  thermostat  and  its  connections 
with  the  valve  engine.  The  weak  points  of  this 
machine  were  its  thin  walls  and  imperfect  ther- 
mostat, but  it  was  superior  to  nine-tenths  of  the 
incubators  on  the  market  to-day.  In  fact,  with 
four  exceptions,  the  incubators  of  ten  years  ago 
were  ahead  of  the  ones  now  offered  for  sale.  In 
1885  a  216  egg  capacity  Thermostalic  incubator 
sold  for  $100.  We  think  it  could  not  have  cost 
82 


less  than  $25  to  make  it,  as  built  then,  and  prob- 
ably it  did  cost  between  $35  and  $50. 

Now  what  do  you  think  of  the  same  machine 
being  "improved,"  and  one  of  150  egg  capacity 
with  a  brooder  attached  for  the  sum  of  $12.50? 
Eight  of  the  latter  for  the  price  of  one  of  the 
former  !  If  you  can  swallow  the  "improvement," 
don't  kick  if  it  gives  you  a  pain. 

The  Thermostatic  has  been  sold  twice  since  Mr. 
Renwick  invented  it.  Show  him  one  of  the  "im- 
proved" Thermostatics  (with  a  new  name)  and 
ask  him  what  he  thinks  of  it.  Ask  him  to  point 
out  one  of  the  good  features  of  the  old  Thermo- 
static in  it.  He  is  a  mechanical  engineer  and  ex- 
pert, and  if  he  were  to  put  an  incubator  in  the 
field  to-day,  it  would  be  a  leader  among  high  class 
machines. 

The  following  picture  represents  the  oldest  hot- 
water  incubator  now  manufactured.  The  egg 
chamber  is  heated  by  a  hot- water  tank.  It  has 
double  trays,  one  above  the  other.  The  ther- 
mostat works  a  lamp  trip  to  draw  a  sleeve  over  the 
wick  to  reduce  the  flame  and  back  again  to 
increase  it.  It  also  opens  a  valve  from  the  egg 
chamber  to  let  off  surplus  heat.  The  clock  is  used 
to  turn  the  eggs.  This  machine  is  made  of  good 
material  and  with  good  workmanship.  It  has  a 
nursery  below.  One  holding  144  eggs,  steel  tank, 
sells  at  $62.50;  with  copper  tank,  $68.50.  Mr. 
Campbell  owns  his  factory  and  makes  machines  in 
large  numbers,  therefore  can  and  does  sell  them 
as  low  as  consistent  with  good  material  and  work- 
83 


manship.  Then  why  is  it  that  other  incubators 
are  offered  at  such  low  prices  ?  Simply  because 
the  material  in  one  of  Mr.  Campbell's  incubators 
costs  more  than  many  of  the  gaudy  rattle-trap 
machines  are  sold  for.  The  craze  to  get  something 
for  nothing  creates  a  lively  market  for  worthless 
so-called  incubators. 


THE   EUREKA   INCUBATOR. 
Manufactured  By  J.  I,.  CAMPBELL,  West  Elizabeth,  Pa. 

The  Improved  Simplicity  Hatcher  consists  of 
an  egg  chamber  enclosed  on  four  sides,  top  and 
bottom  by  double  walls,  six  inches  thick,  four  inches 
of  which  are  packed  with  a  light  non-conductor  of 
heat.  Above  this  egg  chamber  is  a  heater  (hot- 
84 


air),  also  enclosed  by  the  double  walls,  supplied 
by  lamps  through  fire-proof  conductors.  In  the 
centre  of  the  egg  chamber  and  on  a  level  with  the 
eggs  is  a  thermostat  which  controls  the  tempera- 
ture in  the  egg  chamber  and  at  the  egg  level.  It 
is  connected  by  a  brass  rod  and  lever  with  a  valve 
on  top  of  the  hatcher,  operating  in  such  a  manner 
that  just  as  soon  as  the  temperature  in  the  egg 
chamber  reaches  102°  (or  such  degree  as  it  may 
be  set  at)  the  valve  begins  to  open,  turning  the 


THE   EUREKA   BROODER. 

heat  currents  away  from  and  over  the  heater, 
instead  of  into  it,  and  drawing  cold  air  into  the 
heater;  and  when  the  temperature  in  the  egg 
chamber  starts  to  fall  below  102°  it  cuts  off 
the  cold  air  and  turns  the  currents  of  hot 
air  into  the  heat  reservoir  again,  thus  making 
a  commutual  or  reciprocal  action  between  the 
mechanism  of  the  egg  chamber  and  that  of  the 
heater,  by  means  of  which  the  temperature  is  kept 
85 


absolutely  under  control.  The  ventilation  Is  from 
the  bottom,  fresh  air  being  diffused  and  escaping 
automatically  through  a  minute  tube  in  the  top, 
without  perceptible  draught,  and  unaltered  by  the 
action  of  the  regulator.  Moisture  is  also  supplied 
from  below,  at  the  time  and  in  quantity  suitable  to 
the  location. 

Fig.  i.  The  general  exterior  of  hatcher,  showing 


FIG.  i. 

IMPROVED   SIMPLICITY  HATCHER. 

the  position  of   lamps,  the  glass  door  and    the 
double  packed  outside  door.     The  rod  on  the  right 
shows  the  thermometer  drawn  out  to  observe  the 
temperature ;   when   replaced,  the  bulb   is   in  the 
centre  of  the  egg  chamber  and  level  with  the  eggs. 
Fig.  2.  Is  a  view  in   perspective,  showing  the 
body  with  top  and  outer  walls  removed. 
86 


Fig.  3.  Is  a  longitudinal  section  on  the  line  XX 
of  Fig.  4,  showing  the  thermostat  and  its  connec- 
tions. 


Fig.  4.  Is  a  view  in  cross  section  on  the  line  YY 
of  Fig.  5. 

Fig.  5.  Is  omitted,  as  the  four  figures  shown 
are  sufficient  to  explain  fully. 


FIG.  3. 

Similar  letters  refer  to  similar  parts  throughout 
the  several  views. 


AA  are  inlets  for  conducting  hot  air  into  the 
heater  S  through  pipes  BB.  When  E  is  opened, 
it  allows  the  hot  air  to  pass  up  AA  and  CC, 
through  D,  and  out  at  E,  making  a  draft  which 
draws  hot  air  out  of  the  heater  S  at  BB,  at  the 
same  time  drawing  cold  air  into  the  heater  S  at 

mi. 

D  is  a  discharge  pipe  of  double  the  capacity  of 
C,  and  carries  off  hot  air  from  CC  out  at  E  when 
E  is  open. 

E  is  the  main  outlet  for  hot  air,  S  is  the  hot  air 
heater  five  inches  deep. 


FIG.  4. 

H  is  the  egg  chamber. 

Ill  I  are  tubes  running  through  the  top  of  heater 
S,  through  which  cold  air  is  drawn  into  heater  S, 
when  E  is  open. 

K  is  a  thermostat  in  the  egg  chamber  and  is  on  a 
level  with  the  eggs. 

L  is  a  metal  rod  connecting  the  thermostat  with 
the  lever  M. 

J  is  a  ball  or  cover  suspended  at  the  outer  end  of 
the  lever  M,  and  is  made  to  open  or  close  the  out- 
let E  by  action  of  the  thermostat  K. 
88 


P  is  a  tube  running  from  the  egg  chamber  H 
through  the  heater  S,  and  through  which  the  rod 
L  passes.  A  constant  discharge  of  air  flows 
through  this  tube,  from  the  egg  chamber.  It  is 
never  closed. 

X  is  one  of  the  lamps,  two  being  used  at  diag- 
onally opposite  corners  of  the  incubator. 

YYY  is  a  five-inch  space  between  the  inner  and 
outer  wall  of  the  improved  incubator  and  is 
packed  with  mineral  wool  and  granulated  cork. 
All  of  the  hot-air  pipes  are  incased  in  asbestos  or 
mineral  wool. 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  OPERATING 

THE  VON  CULIN  IMPROVED  SIMPLICITY   HATCHER. 


HHBO 


THERMOSTAT 


Light  the  lamp  or  lamps,  turn  the  flame  to  ordin- 
ary height,  with  regulator  as  shown  above,  except 
that  the  perpendicular  rod  which  connects  the  lever 
with  the  thermostat  in  the  egg  chamber  by  means 
89 


of  two  brass  pins  must  be  left  out  (not  connected) 
until  the  temperature  in  the  egg  chamber  rises  to 
102°.  Then  insert  the  rod,  and  connect  as  shown 
in  the  illustration.  When  heating  up  the  machine 
let  the  cover  J  rest  on  the  escape  E.  To  raise  the 
temperature  of  the  egg  chamber,  raise  the  two  nuts 
on  the  perpendicular  rod  ;  to  lower  the  tempera- 
ture, lower  the  same  nuts.  Run  the  machine 
between  102  and  103°.  The  cover  should  be  raised 
from  the  escape  about  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  at 
102°.  This  will  give  a  surplus  heat  which  will  not 
rise  above  103°,  but  if  the  temperature  of  the  room 
should  fall  40  degrees,  and  the  temperature  of  the 
egg  chamber  should  fall  one-half  a  degree,  ttte 
closing  of  the  escape  valve  will  change  the  current 
of  the  escaping  heat  at  once,  making  it  impossible 
to  cool  down ;  at  the  same  time  the  cutting  off  of 
the  excessive  outward  draft  increases  the  flame  of 
the  lamp,  without  turning  the  wick  or  using  any 
device  upon  the  burner  or  wick.  It  is  done  by  the 
change  of  draft  alone. 

The  thermostat  in  the  egg  chamber  opens  and 
closes  the  escape  valve  to  decrease  or  increase  the 
heat  in  the  heat  reservoir,  but  does  not  open  or 
close  any  valve  in  the  egg  chamber.  The  brass 
" guide"  straddles  the  lever.  The  "support" 
holds  the  lever  by  a  brass  pin  on  which  it  works. 
The  nuts  on  the  perpendicular  rod  are  to  adjust 
the  regulator.  The  nuts  on  the  end  of  lever  are  to 
balance  it  to  the  makers'  adjustment,  and  must  not 
be  moved.  Run  the  machine  between  102°  and  103° 
—let  102°  be  your  low  point, — and  103°  your  high 
90 


point.  Run  it  empty  for  24  hours  to  get  well 
regulated,  then  put  in  the  eggs.  Always  fill  the 
lamps  in  the  morning,  if  possible.  After  the  eggs 
have  been  in  24  hours,  turn  thenTtwice  a  day  with 
the  extra  tray.  Fill  the  moisture  pans  on  the  tenth 
day,  unless  otherwise  directed  for  special  location 
or  altitude.  Test  eggs  on  fifth  or  sixth  day  (see 
(< Testing  Eggs");  test  again  on  tenth  day.  If 
you  wish  to  gain  knowledge,  test  again  on  sixteenth 
day.  Test  one  tray  at  a  time.  If  the  room  is  very 
cold  take  them  into  a  warmer  room  to  test  them. 
Do  not  have  a  fire  in  the  room  where  you  keep  the 
incubator,  but  have  the  room  well  ventilated  at  all 
times.  Never  turn  up  the  lamp  flame  when  the 
cover  is  raised  from  the  escape.  If  the  cover  is 
raised  high,  say  ^  inch  or  more,  and  the  tem- 
perature is  right,  you  are  wasting  oil,  and  should 
lower  the  flame.  If  the  cover  is  down  and  the 
temperature  is  too  low,  raise  the  flame.  Always 
close  the  doors  of  machine  when  you  take  eggs  or 
chicks  out.  You  will  not  need  to  look  at  the 
hatcher  more  than  twice  a  day,  night  and  morning. 
After  the  first  day  cool  down  the  eggs  to  about  80° 
or  85°  once  a  day  (when  turning),  until  the  chicks 
begin  to  break  the  shell,  then  do  not  turn  or  cool 
them  anymore,  but  place  the  "chicken  guards" 
on  the  trays.  Take  out  the  chicks  morning  and 
night  (only  those  that  are  strong  enough)  and  place 
in  a  brooder.  Do  not  open  the  machine  often 
when  the  chicks  are  hatching.  Remember  that 
when  you  lake  out  a  lot  of  live  chicks  you  also 
take  out  animal  heat,  and  turn  the  flame  up  a  little 


more.  After  filling  the  water  pans  see  xthat  they 
do  not  get  dry.  Trim  the  lamps  once  a  day  and 
keep  the  burners  clean. 


THE  SIMPLICITY  COMPARTMENT  HATCHER. 


This  machine  is  like  the  Improved  Simplicity  in 
every  respect  except  the  position  of  the  lamps,  and 
is  divided  into  from  two  to  ten  compartments,  each 
compartment  having  a  separate  heater  and  regu- 
lator, and  may  be  run  independent  of  the  other 
compartments.  One,  two  or  all  the  compartments 
may  be  used  at  a  time.  Persons  who  cannot  fur- 
nish a  large  number  of  fresh  eggs  at  one  time  can 
fill  one  or  more  compartments  and  start  them  to 
hatching,  and  fill  up  each  of  the  remaining  com- 
partments at  their  convenience,  thus  setting  fresh 
eggs  every  time.  They  may  also  be  used  to 
advantage  by  persons  who  wish  to  hatch  several 
different  breeds  or  varieties  of  chickens,  or  for 
chickens,  ducks,  geese,  guineas,  turkeys,  pheas- 
ants, quails,  etc. 


WATER  EXPANSION  REGULATORS. 


In  erder  that  you  may  get  a  fair  understanding 
of  the  water  expansion  system  of  regulating  an  in- 
cubator, we  will  give  the  claim  made  by  one  of  the 
manufacturers  of  that  class  of  machines,  and  insert 
our  opinion  in  Italics — said  opinion  being  based  on 
92 


93. 


experience  of  one  season  with  one  of  these  ma- 
chines (in  California),  and  a  season  with  three  of 
them  (in  Pennsylvania). 

"  REGULATION." 

"  This  machine  is  regulated  by  the  expansion  ol 
water.  At  one  end  of  the  tank,  which  contains  thirty 
gallons  of  water,  is  attached  a  regulating  tube 
some  three  or  four  inches  in  diameter.  In  this 
tube  is  inserted  a  float  made  of  thin  brass  foil, 
weighing  perhaps  one  ounce,  but  displacing  water 
to  the  amount  of  one  and  one-half  pounds. 
This  float,  with  the  expansive  and  contractile 
force  of  thirty  gallons  of  water  behind  it, 
works  with  the  regularity  and  precision  of  a 
steam  engine.  [Regardless  of  what  the  heat 
may  be  in  the  egg  chamber,  which  must  vary 
according  to  the  outside  changes  of  temperature.'} 
When  the  water  expands  it  raises  this  float,  which 
forces  up  a  small  level  bar  to  which  is  attached  the 
extinguishers  on  the  lamps.  When  this  float  rises, 
as  it  must  do  with  the  least  expansion  of  water,  the 
heat  is  cut  off  on  the  lamps.  [  The  flame  is  lowered, 
provided  the  lamp  trip  does  not  stick ;  but  if  the 
temperature  of  the  room  rises,  you  must  be  there  to 
add  more  water  to  make  it  lower  the  flame  more 
than  usual,  or  to  put  out  the  light  entirely.  ]  Should 
the  water  cool  and  contract,  the  blaze  is  turned  on 
in  full  force.  [If  the  room  should  become  cold,  the 
operator  must  draw  off  some  water ,  much  or  little, 
according  to  circumstance s.~\  Now,  as  the  tank  is 
the  source  of  heat  for  the  egg  chamber,  one  can 
readily  see  that  it  is  impossible  to  injure  the  eggs  by 
94 


too  much  heat.  [  The  tank  being  the  source  of  heat 
and  there  being  no  regulator  in  the  egg  chamber  to 
control  that  heater,  even  though  you  should  be  able 
to  keep  the  water  in  the  tank  at  a  stationary  tempera- 
ture forjthree  weeks,  the  temperature  of  the  egg 
chamber  will  vary  every  time  the  temperature  of  the 
room  changes — if  it  gets  much  warmer  it  will  over- 
heat the  eggs ;  if  much  colder,  they  will  not  have 
enough  heat.  Overheating  is  the  most  dangerous] 
Indeed,  so  delicate  is  the  action,  that  this  incuba- 
tor has  been  known  to  run  a  week  without  varying 
one  degree  of  heat.  [  When  the  temperature  of  the 
room  has  not  varied. ~\  There  are  no  sleepless  nights 
connected  with  the  use  of  this  machine.  [  We  have 
lost  lots  of  sleep  with  them  (and  so  have  many 
others).]  This  makes  the  most  perfect  regulator 
ever  invented,  \water  must  be  added  to  or  drawn 
from  the  tank  according  to  changes  of  outside  tem- 
perature'} giving  the  operator  absolute  control  not 
only  of  the  heat  in  the  egg  chamber,  [as  '  absolute" 
as  with  no  regulator  at  all\  but  of  any  given  egg 
tray  as  well.  As  we  depend  upon  the  expansive 
and  contractile  force  of  the  water  in  the  tank  to 
regulate  the  heat,  [when  we  did,  and  the  outside 
temperature  changed,  we  got  left.]  of  course  it 
makes  the  principle  which  generates  the  superfluous 
heat  provide  for  its  own  escape.  \_If  the  outside 
temperature  does  not  change]  For  instance,  the 
machine  running  at  a  given  point,  the  water  being 
the  source  of  heat,  you  cannot  get  any  more  heat 
in  the  egg  chamber  unless  you  heat  the  water  hot- 
ter, and  that  is  impossible  unless  you  expand  it, 
95 


[Let  the  outside  temperature  rise  20°,  40°  or  50 
jj/<?«  wz//  yfodf  w0re  heat  than  you  want  in  the  egg 
chamber,  and  you  will  not  wait  for  the  water  to  ex- 
pand if  you  wish  to  save  the  eggs,  but  will  draw  off 
some  hot  and  add  some  cold  water  to  the  tank.  ]  and  as 
the  expansive  force  of  one- fourth  of  a  degree  will  cut 
the  lights  entirely  off,  it  makes  it  simply  impossible 
to  overheat  the  machine  or  eggs.  [It  is  possible  at 
times  to  blow  out  the  lamps  entirely  and  still  over- 
heat a  hot  water  incubator •,  especially  during  the 
last  week,  when  the  animal  heat  in  the  eggs  is  in- 
creasing rapidly. ~\  Manipulating  the  lamps  does 
not  affect  the  heat  in  the  egg  chamber  at  all. 
[Rats  !]  All  the  operator  has  to  do  is  to  see  that 
he  has  enough  of  flame,  and  the  regulator  will 
take  care  that  he  does  not  get  too  much.  [Some 
operators  depend  entirely  upon  manipulating  the 
lamps,  and  dispense  with  the  regulator.  If  the  tem- 
perature of  the  room  would  not  change,  the  regula- 
tor might  control  the  temperature  of  egg  chamber  ; 
but  if  the  temperature  of  the  room  is  kept  stationary, 
why  not  hatch  in  the  room  instead  of  buying  an  in- 
cubator f\  We  use  two  lamps  on  our  largest  ma- 
chines, though  usually  one  is  all  sufficient  to  furnish 
all  the  heat  required.  We  call  one  our  safety 
lamp  ;  for  instance,  should  the  operator  forget  to 
fill  one  lamp,  and  the  light  should  go  out,  the 
water  cools — contracts — the  float  is  lowered,  the 
heat  is  turned  on  in  full  force  on  the  other  lamp 
and  the  heat  is  not  changed  at  all  in  the  egg  cham- 
ber. Suppose  he  forgets  to  attach  the  extinguisher 
to  one  lamp,  and  double  heat  is  turned  on  ;  the 
96 


water  heats — expands — the  other  extinguisher  rises 
and  promptly  puts  out  the  other  light,  and  still  the 
heat  remains  unchanged  in  the  egg  chamber. 
Suppose  both  lights  go  out,  for  want  of  oil ;  the 
thirty  gallons  of  water,  packed  with  an  inch  of 
hair  felting  all  around  and  over  it,  as  it  is,  in  a 
double  cased  machine,  packed  with  the  same  in- 
sulating material,  does  not  lose  more  than  one  or 
two  degrees  of  heat  during  the  whole  night.  [/$•  a 
person  likely  to  Jill  one  lamp  and  forget  the  other,  if 
both  are  together?  If  you  forgot  to  attach  one  ex 
tinguisher  on  a  very  warm  day,  you  would  risk 
spoiling  the  eggs,  as  the  turning  down  of  one  flame 
would  not  compensate  for  the  one  at  full  blast  at  the 
latter  part  of  a  hatch.  A  person  who  has  not  time 
and  memory  to  fill  the  lamp  or  lamps  once  in  24. 
hours  should  not  use  an  incubator •.]  Now  an  incu- 
bator has  got  to  be  run  three  weeks,  night  and  day. 
All  of  the  above  mistakes  often  occur  through  the 
carelessness,  forgetfulness  or  inexperience  of  the  at- 
tendant ;  so  that  the  superiority  and  safety  of  our 
regulation  above  all  others  is  manifest.  The 
superiority  of  this  principle  of  regulation  over 
that  on  hot  air  machines  is  manifest.  [  We  fail  to 
see  it.~\  Their  only  means  of  reducing  heat  is  by 
ventilating  when  the  heat  is  excessive  ;  [  This,  if 
applied  to  the  heat  in  the  egg  chamber  (and  thai  is 
the  vital  place},  is  a  mistake  or  a  misstatement,  as 
the  best  hot  air  incubators  do  not  regulate  the  tem- 
perature of  the  egg  chamber  by  opening  and  closing 
ventilators  therein  or  therefrom — it  is  the  Hot 
Water  machines  that  do  that.  The  hot-air  machine 
97 


takes  away  the  SUPPLY  of  heat  from  the  heater 
and  PRE  VENTS  the  heater  from  overheating  the 
egg  chamber  at  any  time.  See  Hot-air  Incubator  J\ 
Again,  other  makers  decry  our  lamp  trips,  saying, 
'They  are  unreliable'  [Not  only  unreliable,  but 
dangerous,  from  their  inclination  to  clog  and  stick, 
causing  smoke,  overheat,  etc^\  when  this  is  the 
safest  and  surest  part  of  the  whole  thing,  \_At  par 
with  the  other  details.  ~\  as  it  is  nothing  more  or  less 
than  an  adjustable  wick  tube  to  reduce  the  flame. 
Instead  of  turning  down  the  flame,  the  tube  is 
drawn  up  over  it — the  action  different,  but  the 
result  the  same." 


TWO  REGULATORS. 


Some  incubators  have  two  regulators.  Why  ? 
Because  one  is  not  sufficient.  The  regulator  which 
raises  and  lowers  the  flame  of  the  lamp  does  not 
entirely  control  the  heat,  especially  when  the  tem- 
perature of  the  room  rises.  To  remedy  this  diffi- 
culty a  second  regulator  is  added,  one  to  open  and 
close  a  valve  in  the  egg  chamber.  As  we  have 
used  such  machines,  we  will  tell  you  how  they 
worked  for  us,  and  you  can  decide  whether  or  not 
two  regulators  are  an  advantage. 

For  instance  we  set  the  lamp  trip  regulator  to 
lower  the  flame  at  103^°  and  the  egg  chamber 
ventilator  to  open  at  104^° — both  thermostats 
being  in  ^the  egg  chamber.  The  temperature  of 
the  room  in  which  the  incubator  is  operated  is  55° 
at  7  o'clock  A.  M.  We  have  filled  and  trimmed 
98 


the  lamps  and  turned  the  eggs,  so  we  leave  the 
incubator  and  go  about  our  other  business,  not 
expecting  to  have  to  attend  to  the  incubator  again 
until  6  or  7  P.  M.  If  the  temperature  of  the  room, 
remains  at  55°  and  the  lamp  trip  does  not  clog  or 
stick  all  may  go  well ;  but  by  n  A.  M.  the  tem- 
perature of  the  room  has  risen  to  70°,  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  egg  chamber  rises  to  103^°  and  the 
lamp  flame  is  lowered.  The  temperature  of  the 
room  keeps  rising  until  it  reaches  80°,  and  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  the  flame  is  lowered,  the 
heat  in  the  egg  chamber  rises  to  104^°  and  the 
second  regulator  opens  a  damper  valve  in  the  egg 
chamber.  Now  the  cooler  air  of  the  room  (at  80°) 
rushes  in  the  egg  chamber,  acts  on  the  thermostat 
and  closes  the  valve.  It  also  acts  on  the  other 
thermostat  and  causes  the  flame  to  be  turned  up, 
while  the  water  in  the  tank  has  not  cooled  a 
degree.  The  higher  flame  now  makes  the  water 
still  hotter,  and  the  air  in  the  egg  chamber  is 
reheated,  down  goes  the  lamp,  open  flies  the 
damper,  the  cooler  air  rushes  in,  the  damper  closes, 
up  goes  the  flame,  and  hotter  still  gets  the  water 
in  the  tank.  The  up  and  down  and  opening  and 
closing  process  goes  on  at  an  increased  rate 
(shorter  intervals)  while  the  egg  chamber  goes 
through  a  course  of  chills  and  fevers  with  fluctu- 
ating ventilation  and  moisture — the  latter  being 
affected  by  every  change  of  ventilation,  until  the 
temperature  of  the  room  declines  towards  evening 
to  55°  or  60°  or  to  the  point  at  which  it  stood 
when  the  regulators  were  set  or  adjusted.  If  you 
99 


can  keep  an  even  temperature  in  the  room,  you 
may  be  able  to  control  a  hot  water  incubator  with 
two  regulators  ;  but  in  that  case  why  not  hatch  in 
the  room  without  an  incubator  ? 


HOCUS  POCUS  REGULATORS. 


The  old  game  of  "hocus  pocus,"  or,  "now  ycu 
see  it,  and  now  you  don't,"  may  serve  very  nicely 
as  an  innocent  amusement  for  children,  but  when 
applied  to  the  regulator  of  an  incubator,  is  not 
particularly  amusing  to  the  operator  of  such  incu- 
bator. The  following  review  of  a  regulator  farce 
in  four  acts — running  through  four  editions  of  an 
incubator  catalogue  (our  observations  being 
inserted  in  italics},  is  to  the  point. 


HOCUS  POCUS; 

OR   THE  MAGIC   REGULATOR. 


FIRST  ACT  (from  Catalogue  No.  5). 
"OUR  REGULATOR."  To  control  the  heat 
through  a  course  of  hatching  at  a  temperature  of 
103°  within  the  egg  chamber,  has  been  the  perplex- 
ing question  with  all  incubator  manufacturers. 
Methods  consisting  of  electricity,  mercury,  water 
expansion,  thermostat,  lamp  trips  and  other  devices 
we  have  personally  and  practically  tested,  which 
enables  us  to  know  from  experience  the  great 
advantage  of  an  incubator  with  a  large  water  capa- 
city, to  produce  the  amount  of  heat  necessary  with- 

100 


out  bringing  it  to  a  boil,  {Notice  how  they  slide  off 
of  the  regulator  question  into  a  large  tank  of  water} 
which  is  the  case  where  small  and  shallow  tanks  are 
used.  {A  large  tank  of  water  will  not  cool  off  as 
easily  as  a  smaller  one,  and  the  possibility  of  over- 
heating is  greater  and  more  dangerous.  To  produce 
a  temperature  of  103°  in  the  egg  chamber  the  body 
of  water  must  be  so  hot ;  if  the  temperature  of  Ihe 
room  rises  or  falls,  the  water  in  the  large  tank  must 
be  made  hotter  or  cooler,  as  the  occasion  demands, 
and  if  a  large  body  of  water  gets  too  hot,  it  stays 
too  hot  longer  than  a  smaller  body  of  water.  If  it 
gets  too  cold,  it  takes  longer  to  reheat  it.  What  has 
that  to  do  with  the  regulator  f) 

The is  supplied  with  FOUR  exhaust 

ventilators,  one  at  each  corner  of  the  machine,  and 
so  arranged  that  during  incubation  a  continuous 
and  evenly  distributed  current  of  warm  air  passes 
through  the  egg  chamber,  carrying  with  it  all  gas 
and  poisonous  vapor  which  accumulates  during  the 
process  of  hatching,  and  exhausts  the  heat  as  it 
reaches  the  point  of  103°.  (  With  no  motive  power 
to  open  or  close  these  four  ventilators,  will  any  sane 
person  imagine  that  they  will  control  the  temperature 
of  the  egg  chamber  any  more  than  four  windows 
will  control  the  temperature  of  a  room,  unless  an 
attendant  watches  and  opens  and  closes  them  partly 
or  entirely  as  the  O2itside  temperature  changes  ?  On 
the  contrary,  the  ventilation  will  be  greater  on  a 
cold  than  on  a  warm  day,  the  amount  of  air  passing 
through  being  governed  by  the  changes  of  tempera- 
ture of  the  room).  By  this  method  we  have  a 
101 


T*-  -T-  -T, .£>  JE  •£ ^^s^ 


regulator  which  is  simple,  perfect  and  absolutely 
reliable,  (  The  machine  as  described  has  no  more 
regulator  than  an  ordinary  tea  kettle  has,  and  on 
the  following  page  of  same  catalogue  they  not  only 
admit  that  they  have  no  automatic  regulator,  but 
you  will  see  them  say  that  there  is  no  absolutely  self- 
regulating  incubator.  Nothing  slow  about  this 
farce  /),  and  one  that  produces  a  gradual  and  even 
ventilation,  and  avoids  all  chilly  drafts  which  occur 
in  incubators  ventilated  by  the  constant  opening 
and  closing  of  large  swinging  dampers,  claimed  to 
regulate  the  heat,  and  placed  immediately  over  the 
egg  drawer.  We  have  fully  demonstrated  the 
good  qualities  of  our  hatcher,  and  the  reliability 
of  our  regulator  to  the  people  in  this  whole  section 
by  completing  two  hatches  in  succession,  in  one  of 
the  largest  and  most  extensively  decorated  show 

windows  in  the  city  of ,  with  good  success. 

Would  respectfully  ask  :     Could  we,  in  any  way 

better  explain  what   the will   do?     or  the 

accuracy  of  our  regulator.  {Have  you,  thus  far, 
found  any  explanation  as  to  HO  W this  '  regulator* 
regulates  ?  How  it  manages  the  big  body  of  water 
when  it  gets  too  hot  and  sends  the  temperature  of  the 
egg  chamber  up  to  IIOQ  ,  as  we  have  seen  it ;  or 
how  it  warms  it  up  again  when  it  gets  too  cool  f 
No  f  Well  neither  have  we ;  but  we  can  tell  you 
how  its  manufacturers  did  it  at  the  World 's  Fair : 
They  turned  the  light  up  or  down  and  waited 
several  hours,  or  got  others  to  do  it  for  them.  Had 
the  four  ventilators  at  the  corners  exhausted  the 
heat  at  103°,  there  would  have  been  no  danger  of 
102 


overheating  in  the  night,  and  had  it  been  self -regu- 
lating, there  would  have  been  no  occasion  to  have 
persons  on  the  lookout  to  turn  the  lamp  up  or  down .) 
Many   will  say,  after   reading    the   description 

given  herein :  The Incubator  is  undoubtedly 

a  good  machine,  but  would  prefer  one  with  a  self- 
regulator  connected  with  it.  {Here  is  an  admission 
that  it  is  not  automatic  and  has  NO  REGULA- 
TOR, and  you  must  regulate  it  entirely  by  hand, 
raising  or  lowering  the  lamp  flame  with  each 
change  of  temperature,  if  you  happen  to  get  there  in 
time. )  RIGHT  HERE  permit  us  to  call  your  attention 
to  the  fact  that  there  is  not  an  incubator  in  existence 
that  is  absolutely  self- regulating  (No,  there  is  no 
perpetual  motion  that  will  fill  the  lamps  and  attend 
to  the  requirements  without  human  aid,  but  there  are 
incubators  that  regulate  as  perfectly  as  one  could 
wish,  and  need  no  attention,  except  for  a  few  min- 
utes twice  a  day.},  it  makes  no  difference  what 
superior  claims  the  proprietors  set  forth,  or  the 
device  or  arrangement  used  for  adjusting  or  gov- 
erning the  heat  in  the  egg  chamber.  (7s  not  this 
a  contradiction  of  their  claim  just  made,  of  the 
accuracy  of  their  regulator.  The  farce  abounds 
with  funny  situations.}  Experienced  incubator 
operators  will  bear  us  out  in  this  statement.  (Not 
if  they  have  used  the  best  makes  of  modern  incuba- 
tors;  hundreds  prove  to  the  contrary.}  From  one 
of  the  many  books  of  directions  for  operating  Self- 
regulating  Incubators,  which  we  have  in  our 
possession,  we  quote  the  following  paragraph. 
"  No  matter  how  much  of  a  self- regulating  machine 
103 


4444  4444  4444  4444  4444  44  44  4  444  44  4  4  44  44  # 


it  is,  the  SUPPLY  of  heat  must  be  regulated  by 
hand  more  or  less,  as  the  temperature  of  the  room 
changes.  You  must  understand  the  working  of 
the  regulator  and  see  that  it  is  set  at  the  proper 
degree  before  you  put  ANY  EGGS  in  the  ma- 
chine." (No  person  would  start  to  fire  up  a  new 
boiler  without  properly  adjusting  the  safety  valve, 
nor  would  an  engineer  attempt  to  start  his  locomo- 
tive before  getting  up  steam  to  the  required  pressure. 
A  baker  would  not  put  his  bread  in  an  oven  before 
it  was  thoroughly  heated.  Certainly  an  incubator 
manufacturer  with  common  sense  would  not  direct 
you  to  put  eggs  into  an  incubator  before  you  have 
the  heat  up  to  lof  and  the  regulator  set  to  control 
it.  Such  argument  (?}  is  ridiculous}.  The  fore- 
going leaves  you  to  judge  the  real  value  of  self- 
regulators,  which  is  materially  the  *same  advice 
given  to  all  purchasers,  after  sending  their  cash  for  a 
self- regulating  incubator.  (All  so-called  self -regu- 
lating incubators  are  not  self -regulating,  but  there 
are  some  which  are.) 

We  most  emphatically  state  that  the 

is  as  near  perfect  in  this  respect  as  a  machine  for 
hatching  eggs  can  be  made,  unassisted  by  motive 
power,  thermostat,  clock-work,  electricity  or  any 
secondary  appliance  whatever.  (No  motive  power, 
no  automatic  regulation;  and  where  there  is  no 
automatic  regulation  you  must  depend  upon  regu- 
lating by  hand,  that  is  by  turning  the  flame  up  or 
down;  if  you  are  not  at  hand  at  the  proper  time, 
which  may  be  at  midday  or  at  midnight,  you  get  left 
on  the  hatch,  your  eggs  get  cooked  or  chilled?)  Our 
104 


machine  is  in  every  sense  practical  and  reliable, 
readily  understood  and  easily  managed.  After  a 
short  experience  with  one  of  our  hatchers,  we  will 
guarantee  that  you  may  be  absent  from  the  machine 
from  seven  in  the  morning  till  seven  in  the  evening 
and  it  will  take  care  of  itself,  unless  (Jia  /)  an  un- 
usual and  extreme  change  of  temperature  takes 
place.  A  change  of  from  seven  to  ten  degrees  will 
have  no  material  effect  on  our  incubator."  {If  no 
extreme  change  of  temperature  takes  place  /  Well, 
extreme  changes  do  take  place  in  twelve  hours,  even 
in  daytime,  but  what  about  leaving  it  alone  all 
night,  when  changes  of  from  ten  to  forty  degrees 
frequently  occur  f  In  some  parts  of  this  country 
a  change  of  fifty  degrees  within  24.  hours  is  not 
unusual?) 


SECOND  ACT  (from  Catalogue  No.  6,  early  edi- 
tion.) 

"  OUR  REGULATOR."    For  ten  years  the 

Incubator  has  been  manufactured.  Each  year  it 
has  rapidly  advanced  in  popularity  and  to-day 
stands  in  the  front  rank  with  the  best.  This  has 
been  accomplished  by  adding  new  features — but 
only  when  such  features  are  proven  practical  and 
consistent — with  other  important  appliances  which 
must  be  used  to  constitute  a  first- class  hatcher,  as 
an  imperfect  regulator  will  derange  and  seriously 
affect  both  moisture  and  ventilation.  In  equipping 

our with    regulator,    we    have    been   very 

careful  to  avoid  all  puzzling  contrivances.     (After 
105 


a  constant  war  against  regulators  they  conclude 
that  they  need  one.  That  they  did  put  their  foot 
into  a  puzzling  contrivance  will  be  evident  when 
you  observe  that  in  a  later  edition  of  catalogue  No. 
6  their  regulator  is  discarded — has  disappeared  in 
twenty  gallons  of  water.)  Methods  consisting  of 
electricity,  mercury,  water-expansion,  lamp-trips, 
and  numerous  other  devices,  we  have  practically 
tested.  {Can  we  believe  that  they  had  tested  the 
regulator  which  they  now  claim  to  have  adopted, 
when  they  did  not  have  one  on  their  incubator  at 
World' s  Fair,  during  the  latter  part  of  which  they 
announced  that  they  had  a  regulator,  after  examin- 
ing the  regulators  of  other  machines  on  exhibition, 
and  asking  where  and  by  whom  they  were  made. 
Did  they  have  it  on  the  two  incubators  outside  the 
fair  grounds,  hatching  chicks  for  their  brooders?), 
but  find  nothing  so  complete  in  every  particular  as 
the  late  improved  combined  thermostat,  which  is 
as  sensitive  to  the  heat's  action  as  the  thermometer 
itself.  {How  does  that  sound  after  what  they  said  in 
the  first  act  about  self-regulating  incubators?  A 
month  or  so  previous  they  were  no  good ;  now  there 
is  nothing  so  complete — and  bear  in  mind  they  claim 
to  add  only  such  features  as  are  proven  practical. 
Here  the  farce  borrows  a  feature  of  the  pantomime, 
and  the  clown  turns  a  somersault) 

A  thermostat  bar  twelve  inches  long,  (too  short) 
composed  of  steel,  brass  and  rubber,  all  especially 
prepared  for  our  hatchers.  {The  combination  is 
something  new,  indeed.  We  do  not  say  that  they 
did  not  attempt  to  use  such  a  thermostat,  but  we 
106 


were  told  by  a  lady  that  she  bought  one  of  these 
incubators  shortly  after  the  World 's  Fair,  under- 
standing from  the  catalogue  that  it  had  such  a 
regulator,  but  found  that  there  was  no  thermostat 
in  the  machine.  That  she  wrote  to  the  makers 
about  it,  and  they  told  her  that  the  party  who  made 
them  for  them  had  failed,  and  they  could  not  get 
any  more  ;  but  thai  she  should  remember  that  it  was 
not  the  regulator  that  hatched  the  chicks,  but  the 
incubator.  She  said  that  she  returned  the  machine 
to  its  makers  and  asked  for  her  money.  We  pre- 
sume that  she  got  it.}  The  bar  is  securely  fastened 
to  the  under  side  of  frame  which  supports  the  tank 
and  on  a  level  with  the  upper  surface  of  the  eggs. 
At  the  unfastened  end  of  the  bar  it  connects  with 
lever  and  a  brass  rod,  which  opens  and  closes  a 
small  ventilating  tube.  This  ventilating  cap  is 
easily  adjusted  by  means  of  two  little  set- screws, 
one  above  and  one  below  the  cap,  on  outside  and 
on  top  of  tube,  and  can  be  set  to  open  or  close  at 
any  desired  degree  of  temperature  in  the  egg- 
chamber.  With  our  regulator  no  rods  or  bearings 
are  attached  to  the  outside  of  the  machine.  (  We 
have  not  found  any  person  who  has  yet  seen  them  on 
the  inside.}  We  have  known  of  serious  accidents 
occurring  where  the  regulating  attachments  are 
exposed  to  the  meddling  of  children,  and  one 
instance  especially,  where  600  nice  eggs  were 
ruined  two  days  before  they  were  due  to  hatch  by 
a  rat  running  over  the  top  of  the  incubator  and 
dislocating  the  regulator.  {Rats  !  It  is  a  case  of 
sour  grapes.  Notice  later,  in  the  fourth  act,  cata- 
107 


logue  No.  10,  where  they  claim  to  have  another 
regulator — this  time  on  the  outside,  they  forget  to 
mention  the  mischievous  rat,  or  the  meddling  chil- 
dren ;  but  such  an  important  character  as  Mr.  Rat 
should  be  made  to  play  his  part  to  the  end  of  the 
farce) 


THIRD  ACT  (from  Catalogue  No.  6,  later  edition.) 

"As  TO  THE  MATTER  OF  REGULATION."     The 

Incubator  has   been  on  the  market  NINE 

consecutive  years.  (Glance  back  to  beginning  of 
second  act.)  Its  growth  in  public  favor  has  been 
rapid.  It  is  to-day  the  most  popular  incubator  in 
existence.  It  has  won  this  high  rank  strictly  on  its 
merits.  Its  wide-spread  popularity  is,  we  claim, 
absolute  proof  of  its  merits — of  its  real  value  as  a 
hatcher.  The  proof  of  the  pudding  is  in  the  eat- 
ing !  In  reply  to  all  envious  assertions  made  by 
competitors,  we  have  this  to  say  :  Mere  assertion  is 
one  thing  ;  actual  results,  as  described  and  sworn 
to  by  men  and  women  who  have  bought  and  are 

now    using hatchers,    are    very    different 

things.  The  one  is  the  boasting  of  men  who  have 
something  to  sell ;  the  others  are  the  disinterested 
statements  of  persons  who  have  paid  out  their 
good  money  for  artificial  hatchers  and  have  put 
them  to  the  test.  ******  The  real 
safety  of  the  heat  governor  on  a  successful  incu- 
bator depends  upon  the  amount  of  water  used. 

That  is  the  secret  of  success.     The holds 

twenty  gallons  of  water,  200  egg  capacity.     (Here 
108 


they  fall  back  again  into  the  twenty  gallons  of  water. 

Where,   oh,    where    is    that    12 -inch    thermostat? 

Where  is  the  new  feature  which  they  had  proven  ; 
the  thermostat  that  was  as  sensitive  to  the  heafs 
action  as  the  thermometer  itself?  Did  a  rat  carry 


FOURTH  ACT  (from  tenth  annual  catalogue,  first 

edition). 

"*  AUTOMATIC  HEAT  REGULATORS."  The 
— ,  as  originally  patented,  was  not 
equipped  with  an  automatic  regulator.  The  value 
of  a  trustworthy  regulator  was  appreciated,  how- 
ever, (  What  about  the  twenty  gallons  of  water  and 
the  four  ventilating  holes,  which  in  First  Act,  cata- 
logue No.  5,  was  a  regulator  simple,  perfect  and 
absolutely  reliable  ?)  and  during  a  number  of  years 
extensive  experiments  were  made  by  us  along  this 
line.  (  We  should  say  so,  when  within  one  year  four 
different  catalogues  were  used  to  convince  pro- 
spective customers  that  the  machine  had  a  simple, 
perfect  and  reliable  regulator,  while  they  were 
ringing  the  changes  on  the  twenty  gallons  of  water 
and  four  ventilators,  the  12  inch  rubber,  brass  and 
steel  thermostat,  the  twenty  gallons  of  water  and 
four  ventilators  again,  and  then  the  severed  band  cf 
brass  and  soldered  steel  wires.)  So-called  lamp 
trips  were  tried  and  found  to  be  untrustworthy. 
The  rubber  thermostat,  or  rubber  bar  was  faithfully 
tried,  but  was  found  to  lose  its  power  after  three  or 
four  hatches  and  thus  become  worthless.  (Less 
than  a  year  before  they  said  they  had  a  complete 
109 


regulator — the  expansive  power  of  which  was, 
we  believe,  rubber.  Now  they  say  it  is  worthless. 
Then  they  declared  that  they  added  only  such 
features  as  had  ' ' proven  practical? ')  A  regulating 
device  which  depends  on  a  rubber  bar  for  its  power 
will  not  last,  as  the  rubber,  when  continually 
exposed  to  a  temperature  of  103°,  dies,  as  the 
scientists  say,  or  loses  its  power  of  regular  expan- 
sion and  contraction.  It  is  like  the  rubber  in  a 
pair  of  ordinary  suspenders,  in  the  heat  of  summer 
the  rubber  gives  out.  A  steel  strip  is  used  with  a 
view  to  correcting  this  loss  of  power  in  the  rubber 
thermostat,  but  with  only  temporary  results. 
(  Was  this  true  when  they  claimed  it  "proven" 
"  complete  in  every  particular  and  as  sensitive  to 
the  heat' s  action  as  the  thermometer  itself"  ;  or  do 
the  laws  of  nature  change  within  a  year  to  suit  the 
convenience  of  these  punsters  ?  Verily,  the  farce  is 
a  merry  one!)  We  know  exactly  what  we  are 
talking  about  in  this  respect,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  we  once  adopted  this  same  device  and  had  to 
discard  it  as  being  worse  than  no  regulator  at  all. 
{But  say,  while  we  are  proud  to  see  them  own  up 
for  once,  we  cant  exactly  see  how  they  are  going  to 
explain  the  fairy  tale  in  one  of  the  catalogues  No. 
6,  where  they  declare  that  they  added  only  such  new 
features  as  have  PRO  V EN  practical  and  consist- 
ent, and  give  the  public  to  understand  that  the  said 
device  had  been  thoroughly  tested  and  proven,  and 
found  practical  and  accurate. 

There  are  no  secrets  connected  with  the 

incubators,  none  whatever.     In  this  book  we  aim 
no 


to  explain  and  describe  every  part  and  feature  of 
our  machines  so  that  there  need  be  no  misunder- 
standings. We  want  our  patrons  to  know  before- 
hand precisely  what  they  are  to  get.  (  The  bass- 
drum  and  trombone  put  in  a  staccato  note  here.} 
We  are  willing  to  leave  it  to  their  judgment 
whether  or  not  our  machines  are  honest  goods 
built  on  correct  principles.  {Soft  cadences  of 
harmony  from  second  violin,  flute,  clarionet  in  E 
flat,  French  horn  and  violoncello.  Ladies  in  the 
parquet  and  dress  circle  weep  in  an  undertone. 
Lights  low?) 

The  regulator  we  now  use  {For  how  long  f)  on 
all  our  machines,  depends  for  its  power  on  the 
expansion  and  contraction  of  metals,  brass  and 
steel,  under  a  change  of  temperature — a  natural 
law  that  is  as  certain  as  that  a  stone  when  thrown 
into  the  air  will  fall  back  to  earth.  (  The  old  steel 
and  brass  combination  was  discarded  years  ago  by 
parties  who  now  manufacture  good  incubators,  and 
a  third  tumble  into  the  same  old  twenty  gallons  of 
ivater  will  probably  be  a  feature  in  the  next  cata- 
logue. Unfortunately  the  new  customers  very  rarely 
see  the  old  catalogues?) 

Tableau — Colored  lights — Lively  music. 

CURTAIN. 

There  are  numerous ' '  hocus  pocus  "  regulators  (?) 
placed  on  so-called  incubators.  While  nobody 
objects  to  would-be  inventors  experimenting  with 
every  new  contrivance  offered  them  as  regulators, 
provided  they  do  the  experimenting  at  their  own 
in 


expense,  before  placing  the  machine  or  contrivance 
on  the  market,  most  persons  do  object  to  having 
an  experimental  regulator  palmed  off  on  them  for 
a  thoroughly  tested  and  proven  one.  A  mariner 
is  just  as  safe  with  a  deficient  compass  as  a  poultry- 
man  is  with  a  faulty  regulator  on  his  incubator. 
If  it  occurs  to  you  that  we  seem  to  be  finding  a 
great  deal  of  fault,  we  would  call  your  attention  to 
the  fact  that  when  a  surveyor  makes  a  chart  of  a 
river  or  bay,  he  does  not  stop  at  lining  out  the  safe 
courses  and  deep  channels,  but  is  equally  particular 
to  designate  the  dangerous  rocks,  treacherous 
shoals  and  sunken  wrecks.  Did  we  fail  to  do  the 
same  in  this  line  you  would  censure  us. 


OTHER  METHODS  OF  REGULATION. 


Take  a  machine  with  a  thermostatic  bar  close  to 
the  heater,  not  level  with  the  eggs,  and  the  bottom 
of  the  incubator  being  nothing  but  one  thickness 
of  galvanized  iron,  with  water  pans  made  in  the 
iron  ;  a  change  of  temperature  in  the  room  will, 
through  this  thin  iron,  affect  the  temperature  of 
the  egg  chamber  below  the  thermostatic  bar,'  and 
as  high  as  the  level  of  the  egg  centre,  before  affect- 
ing the  bar,  and  under  some  circumstances  the 
variations  do  not  reach  the  bar  at  all.  The  chilling 
of  the  water  through  this  thin  bottom  is  also  fatal 
to  good  results.  The  flame  of  the  lamp  must  be 
raised  or  lowered  as  the  temperature  of  the  room 
changes  to  any  extent. 

Another  incubator,  partly  double  wall,  one-inch 
112 


wood  with  galvanized  iron  inside  ;  a  thermostatic 
bar  as  in  the  former,  or  nearly  so,  only  made  in 
different  shape  and  applied  differently  to  open  a 
damper  in  the  top  and  to  raise  the  lamp  trips  to 
lower  the  flames.  This  damper  opens,  and  out 
rushes  the  heat — and  the  moisture.  The  eggs  and 
the  water  are  thus  cooled. 

This  damper  is  supposed  to  open  at  103^°  or 
104°  and  to  close  at  102°,  and  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances it  will  do  it,  but  you  cannot  depend 
upon  it.  It  may  open  at  103^°  and  close  at  101° 
for  a  week,  and  it  may  open  at  103°  and  not  close 
until  the  temperature  falls  to  95°,  and  again  it  will 
close  at  101°  and.  will  not  open  until  1 10°  is  reached 
— we  have  seen  them  go  up  to  115®  before  opening. 
Can  this  be  called  "  self- regulating  ?"  Can  the 
right  amount  of  moisture  be  applied  by  this 
arrangement  ? 

Another  class  have  a  water  tank  over  the  eggs, 
with  thermometer  immersed  in  the  water,  and  the 
operator  is  directed  to  keep  the  water  at  a  certain 
temperature.  We  have  seen  eggs  cooked  in  this 
kind-of  a  machine  with  water  kept  as  directed. 

Another  lined  with  paper,  and  having  a  regulator 
four  inches  above  the  eggs,  and  water  on  top  of 
the  heater,  with  a  damper  over  the  water,  which 
damper  is  supposed  to  open  and  close  at  the  desired 
temperature.  It  does  not  do  so  with  any  regularity, 
and  when  it  does  open,  it  is  liable  to  stay  open  all 
day  and,  of  course,  the  moisture  goes  out.  We 
have  run  three  of  this  kind  with  bad  results,  after 
which  they  were  stored  away. 


Another  has  a  very  pretty  appearance,  glass 
doors,  etc.,  with  thermostatic  bar,  single  wall, 
clock-work  and  battery ;  dampers  in  the  top  to 
open  and  close  (often  six  or  eight  times  in  an  hour), 
lamp  trips  to  lower  the  flame  ;  it  is  quite  a  piece  of 
machinery — and  quite  likely  to  get  out  of  order, 
both  the  clock-work  and  the  thermostatic  bar,  as 
well  as  the  battery.  When  these  all  work  right  it 
gives  very  good  results ;  but  it  requires  skill, 
experience  and  a  mechanical  turn  to  operate  this 
class  of  machines  successfully. 

Another  has  splendid  arrangements  for  moisture 
and  ventilation  ;  but  the  thermostatic  bar  is  affected 
by  the  swelling  and  shrinking  of  the  machine  and 
change  of  outside  temperature  ;  in  some  climatesj 
we  find  it  almost  impossible  to  control  it  in  an 
ordinary  house. 

We  have  found  where  lamp  trips  are  used  the 
wick  becomes  charred  much  quicker. 

Another  kind  has  a  tank  to  pour  hot  water  into 
above  the  eggs,  which  are  placed  in  a  drawer. 
The  water  must  be  drawn  out  and  heated  every 
day,  sometimes  several  times  in  a  day,  and  is  not 
reliable  for  profitable  work . 

There  are  others  which  we  might  mention,  but* 
space  forbids,  nor  is  it  necessary. 

Most   of  the  so-called    "self-regulating"   incu- 
bators that  we  have  seen   have  to  be  governed  ; 
principally  by  the  lamp  and  some  judgment  of  the 
operator. 

Example  :    We  have  a  large  room  made  of  one- 
inch  boards,  with  a  stove  in  it,  which,  in  moderate 
114 


*»A.A.&A.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.AAAAAAAAA«l*AA/y 


weather  with  a  moderate  fire,  will  heat  it  comfort- 
ably. In  cold  weather  it  takes  a  larger  fire  to  heat 
it,  and  in  extremely  cold  weather  the  hottest  fire 
we  can  make  in  this  stove  will  not  heat  it  properly. 
Why  ?  Because  the  outside  temperature  penetrates 
the  thin  wall.  If  this  same  room  was  to  be  heated 
for  chicks,  the  chicks  to  run  on  the  floor,  and  you 
wanted  the  temperature  on  the  floor  at  70°,  would 
you  for  a  moment  think  of  putting  the  regulator  at 
the  ceiling  and  calculating  the  temperature  below  ? 


THERMOSTATS. 

Air,  water,  alcohol,  ether,  iodine,  kerosene, 
mercury,  gold,  silver,  iron,  steel,  brass,  rubber  and 
many  other  substances  have  been  used  in  making 
thermostats,  with  varying  success.  A  thermostat 
combining  the  right  quality  of  vulcanized  rubber 
with  a  grade  of  brass  made  suitable  for  this  purpose, 
is  the  best  one  yet  made.  It  took  years  of  experi- 
ment to  determine  the  exact  quality  and  grade, 
and  it  requires  an  expert  to  put  them  together  so 
they  will  work  true  and  correctly,  and  neither  lose 
power  nor  take  a  back  or  reverse  action. 

A  thermostat  may  work  near  enough  to  control 
the  heat  of  a  furnace  or  to  ventilate  a  house,  and 
yet  fail  to  give  satisfaction  on  an  incubator  ;  for  a 
very  small  variation  of  the  thermostat  may  ruin 
the  entire  hatch. 

Each  year  some  manufacturer  of  metal  goods, 
agricultural  implements,  show  cases,  washing 


machines  or  novelties,  announces  to  the  incubator 
people  that  he  has  just  perfected  a  regulator  that 
he  will  put  on  his  incubator  this  season,  and  that 
he  would  like  to  furnish  it  at  a  low  cost  to  the 
manufacturers  of  incubators.  The  mushroom 
concerns  that  have  a  regulator  which  does  not 
work,  and  some  of  those  that  have  none  at  all 
(which  is  far  better,  because  you  know  you  have  to 
watch  them)  jump  at  it,  and  then  whoop  that  they 
have  something  that  they  have  tested  for  years. 
They  seldom  know  a  good  thing  when  they  see  it, 
but  the  bitter  complaints  of  customers  cause  them 
to  cast  about  for  something  else,  and  they  are 
ready  for  the  next  fake  that  comes  along. 

Manufacturers   of   thermostats    for    fire   alarms 
have  failed  to  produce  one  for  incubators. 

Air,  water,  alcohol,  and  most  liquids  are  affected 
by  atmospheric  pressure,  etc.,  and  are  not  reliable. 
Alcohol  is  rarely  used  in  thermometers  now,  except 
where  extremely  low  temperatures  are  to  be  taken, 
when  mercury  fails  to  act.  Zinc  expands  well,  but 
fails  to  contract ;  it  gradually  grows  longer  and  is 
useless.  Mercury,  if  not  confined,  will  evaporate ; 
even  when  confined  it  is  affected  by  moisture,  and 
is  not  a  perfect  material  for  a  thermostat.  You 
may  say,  "If  moisture  affects  a  mercury  thermo- 
stat, why  will  it  not  affect  a  mercury  thermometer?  " 
It  does  ;  but  a  comparatively  small  amount  of 
mercury  is  used  in  a  thermometer.  As  a  proof  of 
this  assertion,  look  at  the  very  best  hygrometers, 
which  are  made  by  using  a  wet  and  a  dry  bulb 
thermometer.  Notice  the  difference  between  the 
116 


temperatures  of  the  wet  thermometer  and  the  dry 
one.  If  moisture  affects  a  small  amount  of  mer- 
cury that  much,  what  will  it  do  with  from  twenty 
to  forty  times  the  bulk?  Iron  and  steel  are  too 
slow  to  contract,  or  return.  Gold  and  silver  are 
too  expensive,  and  are  not  equal  to  brass  as  a 
metal  part.  Remember  that  there  are  many  kinds 
of  brass,  and  all  kinds  will  not  answer.  Liquids 
are  not  safe  ;  besides  the  danger  of  a  leak,  the 
expansion  and  contraction  of  the  metal  in  which 
they  are  confined  must  be  overcome  or  compen- 
sated for. 


MOISTURE  GAUGES  AND  HYGROMETERS. 


We  have  experimented  with  many  moisture 
gauges  and  hygrometers  both  inside  and  outside 
of  incubators,  and  have  not  found  them  of  any 
practical  use  inside  of  an  incubator.  The  majority 
of  those  offered  to  poultrymen  are  not  at  all 
117 


reliable,  and  many  of  them  should  be  classed  with 
toys.  For  instance,  we  have  two  of  the  same  make 
and  kind,  and  placed  them  side  by  side,  and  found 
them  indicating  different  degrees  of  humidity. 
We  have  then  placed  a  high-priced  hygrometer 
between  them  and  corrected  both  to  correspond 
with  the  high-grade  instrument.  In  a  few  hours 
No.  i  would  mark  70°  while  No.  2  would  point  to 
90°  while  the  standard  instrument  indicated  55°. 
Again,  when  No.  i  was  at  90°  No.  2  was  pushing 
past  100°,  and  later  when  No..  2. was  at  40°  No.  i 
was  at  55°.  There  was  no  regularity  or  .method 
in  their  variations,  as  one  would  be  higher  than 
the  other  one  day  and  lower  than  the  same  the 
next  day.  Of  what  use  would  either  of  those 
instruments  be  in  an  incubator — even  if  you  could 
control  the  moisture  ?  The  old-fashioned  way  of 
putting  a  cigar  in  the  incubator  would  be  just  as 
serviceable.  You  tell  by  the  feel  of  the  cigar  about 
how  moist  or  dry  the  air  is. 

There  are,  of  course,  hygrometers  that  are  cor- 
rect, but  few  of  them  are  adapted  for  use  in  an 
incubator.  Some  are  too  long  or  high  for  the 
space  between  the  egg  tray  and  the  heat  radiator, 
while  others  have  a  scale  so  small  that  it  cannot  be 
read  without  removing  it  from  the  egg  chamber  to 
a  stronger  light. 

It  is  well  to  have  a  good  hygrometer  in  the  incu- 
bator room  and  to  keep  a  record  of  its  readings, 
daily,  for  it  will  be  a  valuable  guide,  taken  in  con- 
nection with  the  record  of  kinds  and  condition  of 
eggs  in  the  incubator,  in  determining  when  to  fill 
118 


the  moisture  pans  and  the  amount  of  evaporating 
surface  required.  The  time  and  quantity  are 
figured  out  for  your  location  and  incorporated  in 
the  general  directions  sent  by  the  manufacturer  of 
a  good  incubator,  but  as  he  cannot  know  the 
exact  kind,  quality  and  condition  of  the  eggs  you 
may  use,  his  directions  are  given  for  the  best 
results  from  an  average  lot  of  mixed  eggs  and  an 
average  condition  of  outside  temperature  and 
humidity. 

Here  is  the  record  of  a  little  experiment,  using 
the  wet  and  dry  bulb  hygrometer  and  a  spiral 
moisture  gauge  in  the  incubator  room,  and  two 
spiral  moisture  gauges  inside  the  incubator,  the 
temperature  of  the  egg  chamber  being  103° — the 
spiral  instruments  all  being  compared  and  set  by 
the  wet  and  dry  bulb  hygrometer,  to  within  one- 
fifth  of  a  degree,  or  as  near  as  possible  with  such 
instruments  :  First  day,  in  room,  dry  bulb  79° — 
wet  71° — spiral  30  ;  inside  of  incubator,  No.  i,  60° 
—No.  2,  90°.  Second  day,  room,  dry  70° — wet 
76° — spiral  100°  ;  in  incubator,  No.  i,  95° — No.  2, 
65°  ;  Afternoon  of  same  day,  room,  dry  70° — wet 
76°— spiral  85°  ;  in  incubator,  No.  i,  60° — No.  2, 
95°.  Third  day,  room,  dry,  75° — wet  72° — spiral, 
95° ;  in  incubator,  No.  I,  100° — No.  2  index 
against  100°,  and  did  not  start  back  until  No.  i 
reached  75°.  The  same  degree  of  heat,  same  ven- 
tilation and  same  exposure  of  water  surface  were 
kept  in  the  incubator  all  three  days.  We  have 
kept  these  and  other  tests  going  for  years,  but 
have  given  enough  to  illustrate  the  point  without 
119 


tiring  the  reader.  Try  them  yourself.  The  ordi- 
nary moisture  gauges  are  not  reliable,  and  if  they 
were,  you  could  not  control  the  outside  humidity. 

From  one-sixth  to  eighteen-twenty-firsts  of  the 
incubation  there  is  no  water  in  the  egg  chamber  of 
a  majority  of  incubators,  to  create  moisture. 
Suppose  then  the  gauge  indicates  more  moisture 
than  is  called  for,  what  will  you  do  ?  What  use  is 
the  gauge  there?  If  the  gauge  is  not  correct  you 
will  know  no  more  than  without  one.  If  the  water 
pans  were  full  and  the  gauge  indicated  too  much 
moisture,  and  you  reduced  it,  you  would  probably 
do  exactly  wrong  ;  for  the  gauge  would  fool  you . 
There  is  no  rule  by  which  a  given  amount  of 
moisture  can  be  used  through  an  entire  hatch,  or 
for  a  part  of  it,  by  any  gauge.  A  correct  gauge 
will  indicate  the  degree  of  humidity,  but  thus  far, 
it  has  never  been  perfectly  controlled  in  an  incu- 
bator, nor  is  it  likely  to  be  as  long  as  ventilation  is 
a  necessity.  We  can  regulate  it  to  a  great  extent 
so  as  to  make  very  good  hatches  ;  but  the  man 
who  expects  to  control  the  moisture  in  the  egg 
chamber  must  look  beyond  a  moisture  gauge. 

There  is  more  moisture  when  the  chicks  are 
hatching  than  at  any  other  time  ;  they  also  need 
more  then.  The  tray  of  wet  chicks  increases  the 
moisture. 

Some  eggs  require  more  moisture  than  others. 
Some  eggs  will  stand  more  moisture  than  others. 
Thick  shell  eggs  require  less  than  those  with  thin, 
soft  shells.  You  will  often  hear  a  person  say  that 
their  thin  shell  eggs  hatched  splendidly,  but  that 

120 


the  chicks  died  in  those  with  thick  .shells.  It  is 
generally  the  case  that  they  had  just  the  right 
amount  of  moisture  for  the  thin  shell  eggs,  and  too 
much  for  the  thick  ones.  Would  the  moisture 
gauge  help  the  thick  shell  eggs  in  that  instance  ? 
As  the  majority  of  persons  have  a  mixed  lot  of 
eggs,  general  directions  must  be  given  that  will 
give  the  best  results,  as  a  rule.  If  directions  with 
incubators  were  made  to  fill  a  dozen  or  twenty 
pages,  a  great  many  beginners  would  slight  them 
and  omit  some  of  the  most  vital  points;  or  they 
would  reject  them  entirely  as  too  complicated. 
But  those  who  wish  to  get  all  there  is  in  the  busi- 
ness, should  try  to  have  eggs  as  nearly  alike  in 
character  of  shell  as  possible,  to  fill  an  incubator. 
This  is  impracticable  to  many,  but  comparatively 
easy  where  one  has  two  or  more  incubators. 

Mason's  Hygrometer  consists  cf  two  thermome- 
ters, as  nearly  as  possible  alike,  mounted  parallel 
upon  a  frame  and  marked  respectively  "wet" 
and  "dry."  The  bulb  of  the  one  marked  wet  is 
covered  with  thin  muslin  or  silk,  and  kept  moist 
from  a  fountain  which  is  usually  attached.  The 
principle  of  its  action  is,  that  unless  the  air  is  satu- 
rated with  moisture,  evaporation  is  continually 
going  on.  And  as  no  evaporation  can  take  place 
without  an  expenditure  of  heat,  the  temperature 
of  the  wet  bulb  thermometer,  under  the  evapora- 
tion from  the  moistened  bulb,  falls  until  a  certain 
point  is  reached,  intermediate  between  the  dew- 
point  and  the  temperature  of  the  air,  as  shown  by 
the  dry  bulb  thermometer.  To  find  the  dew-point, 
121 


the  absolute  dryness,  and  the 
weight  in  grains  of  a  cubic  foot 
of  air,  tables  have  been  con- 
structed empirically  from  experi- 
ments at  Greenwich,  combined 
with  Regnault's  tables  of  Vapor 
Tension,  for  the  use  of  which  we 
are  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of 
MESSRS.  QUEEN  &  Co.,  Phila- 
delphia. 

If  the  air  be  very  dry,  the  dif- 
ference between  the  two.  ther- 
mometers will  be  great ;  if  moist, 
less  in  proportion,  and  when  fully 
saturated,  both  will  be  alike.  For 
different  purposes,  different  de- 
grees of  humidity  are  required, 
and  even  in  household  use,  that 
hygrometrical  condition  of  the 
atmosphere  most  beneficial  to  one 
person,  may  frequently  be  found  altogether  unsuit- 
table  for  another.  "  Dry"  bulb  70°  and  "wet" 
bulb  62°  to  64°  indicate  average  healthful  hygrom- 
etrical conditions ;  any  other  relative  condition  re- 
quired may  easily  be  found  by  experiment,  and 
then,  dispensing  with  calculations,  or  reference  to 
tables,  it  is  only  necessary  to  see  that  the  two  ther- 
mometers stand  in  the  required  relation  to  each 
other. 

The  price  of  Mason's  Hygrometer  ranges  from 
$2.00  to  $17.50. 


MASON'S  HYGROM- 
ETER. 


122 


TABLES  FOR  THE  USE  OF  MASON'S  HYGROMETER. 

TABLE   OF   DEGREES. 


§in 

Degrees  -f-  e"x- 
cess  x  2  -=  ab- 

1 

III 

Degrees  +  ex- 
cess x  2  =  ab- 

<y 

§5 

1^ 

solute  Dryness. 

O*?   05 

solute  Dryness. 

Sl&    t/5 

Eg 

bc-a'a 

^  w 

Si'o'o 

Degrees  of 
Dryness 
Observed. 

Excess  of 
Dryness  to 
be  added. 

1 

.«! 

r. 

Degrees  of 
Dryness 
Observed. 

Excess  of 
Dryness  to 
be  added. 

Absolute 
Dryness 
existing. 

M  ^  c/; 

Si5 

r 

o 

o.o 

0  0 

0 

1  1.5 

1.9165 

26.833 

69 

0.5  • 

0.083 

1.166 

3 

22 

2.OOO 

28.0 

72 

i 

0.166 

2.332 

6 

12.5 

2  083 

29.  166 

75 

1.5 

0.2495 

9 

13 

2.166 

30332 

78 

2 

0-333 

4  666 

12 

13-5 

2.2495 

3'  499 

81 

2-5 

3 

04165 
0.300 

5833 
7.0 

15 
18 

14 
J4-5 

2-333 
2.4165 

32666 
33.833 

84 
87 

35 

0.583 

8.166 

2t 

15         • 

2.500 

35  o 

90 

4 

0.666 

9332 

24 

15-5 

3.583 

36.166 

93 

4-5" 

0-7495- 

10  499 

-      27 

16 

2.666        37.332 

96 

5 

0.833 

11.666 

30 

165 

2-7495 

38.499 

99 

5-5 

09165 

12.833 

33 

17 

283^ 

39-666 

102 

6 

I  000 

14.0 

36 

175 

2.9  65  1  40.833 

105 

65 

7 

1.083 
1.166 

15  166 
16332 

39 

42      i 

18 
18.5 

3.000 
3083 

420 
431^6 

108 
III 

75 

1.2495 

17  499 

45 

19 

3.166 

44332 

114 

8 

1.333 

18.666 

48 

195 

32495 

45499 

117 

8-5 

1.4165 

I9.833 

20 

3-333 

46.666 

1  2O 

9 

1.500 

2I.O 

54 

205. 

3-4165 

47.833 

123 

9-5 

1.583 

22  166 

57 

2t 

3-500 

490 

126 

10 

1.666 

23.332 

60 

21-5 

3.583 

50.166 

129 

10.5 

1-7495 

24499 

63 

22 

3"  666 

5L332 

132 

ir 

1833 

25.666 

66 

225 

37495 

52.499 

135 

By  the  TABLE  OF  DEGREES  is  shown,  without 
calculation,  the  absolute  dryness  of  the  atmosphere, 
in  degrees  of  Fahrenheit's  Thermometer. 

Observe  the  NUMBER  OF  DEGREES  THE  TWO 
THERMOMETERS  DIFFER,  which  are  here  called 
"degrees  of  dryness  observed,"  and  found  IN  THE 
FIRST  COLUMN,  of  .the  table. 

The  second  column  merely  contains  the  figures 
which,  have  been  added  to  the  degrees  of  dryness 
123 


in  the  first,   and  multiplied  by  2,  to  obtain  THE 

ANSWER  PUT  DOWN  IN  THE  THIRD  COLUMN. 

EXAMPLE. — Temperature  of  the  air  57,  wet  bulb 
54  =  3  degrees  of  dryness  observed  ;  then  add  0.5 
excess  of  dryness  =  3.5  and  multiply  by  2,  which 
will  give  7  degrees  of  absolute  dryness  existing. 

To  find  the  dew-point — Subtract  the  absolute 
dryness  from  the  temperature  of  the  air.  Example 
57  —  7  —  50  dew-point. 

To  find  the  actual  quantity  of  vapor  by  weight 
in  the  atmosphere. — Proceed  as  directed  in  the 
TABLE  OF  QUALITY. 

The  comparison  of  Mason's  with  the  *Dew- 
point  Hygrometer,  and  of  Sir  John  Leslie's,  will 
be  seen  in  the  same  line  of  the  ist,  3d  and  4th 
columns  of  the  Table. 


TO  FIND  THE  QUANTITY  OF  TAPOR  BY  WEIGHT 
EXISTING  IN  THE  ATMOSPHERE. 


PROBLEM.— The  Temperature  of  the  Atmos- 
phere in  the  shade,  and  of  the  dew-point  being 
given,  to  find  the  quantity  of  vapor  in  a  cubic  foot 
of  air. 

If  the  temperature  of  the  air  and  the  dew-point 
correspond,  which  is  the  case  when  both  ther- 
mometers are  alike,  and  the  air  consequently  satu- 
rated with  moisture,  then  in  the  table  of  quantity 
opposite  to  the  temperature,  will  be  found  the  cor- 
responding weight  of  a  cubic  foot  of  vapor  ex- 
pressed in  grains. 

*  Professor  Daniel's  Hygrometer  is  registered  by  the  3d  column. 
124 


EXAMPLE. — Let  the  temperature  of  the  air  be 
70°  F.,  and  the  dew  point  the  same.  Then  op- 
posite the  temperature  you  have  the  weight  of  a 
cubic  foot  of  vapor — 8. 392  grains. 

But  if  the  temperature  of  the  air  be  different 
from  the  dew-point,  a  correction  is  necessary  to  find 
the  exact  weight. 

EXAMPLE. — Suppose  the  dew- point 'be  70°  F.,  as 
before,  but  the  temperature  of  the  air  in  the  shade 
be  80°,  then  the  vapor  lias  suffered  an  expansion  due 
to  an  excess  of  10°,  which  requires  a  correction. 

We  find  in  the  table  of  corrections  for  10°  is 
1.0208. 

Then  divide  8.392  grains  at  the  dew-point,  viz., 
70°  by  the  correction,  corresponding  to  the  degrees 
of  absolute  dryness,  viz. ,  10°,  and  you  have  the 
actual  weight  of  vapor  existing. 

8.3920 

EXAMPLE. 8.221    grains    existing,    which 

1.0208 

substracted  from  the  weight  of  vapor,  correspond- 
ing to  the  temperature  of  80°  F.,  gives  the  number 
of  grains  required  for  saturation  at  that  tempera- 
ture. 

EXAMPLE. — 11.333  gr.  at  the  temp,  of  80°  F. 
8.221  gr.  contained  in  the  air. 

3.112  gr.  required  for  saturation. 
To  find  the  relations  of  these  conditions  on  the 
natural    scale  of   humidity   [complete    saturation 
being  i.ooo],  divide  the  weight  of  vapor  at  the  dew 
point  by  the  weight  at  the  temperature  of  the  air, 
125 


the  quotient  gives  the  parts  of  1:000  the  degrees  of 
saturation. 

8.392  gr.  at  the  dew-point — 70° 

EXAMPLE. = 

1 1.333  gr.  at  the  temp,  of  the  air  80° 
7.40  degrees  of  humidity,  saturation  being  i.ooo. 

The  principles  of  these  calculations  will  be  found 
in  Professor  Daniel's  Meteorological  Essays  ;  in 
Mr.  Anderson's  Essays  on  Hygrometry  ;  in  the 
Edinburgh  Encyclopedia,  Vol.  XI,  and  in  the 
Edinburgh  Journal  of  Science,  Vol.  VII,  page  43, 
in  an  excellent  article  on  the  Dew-point  Hygrom- 
eter, by  Mr.  Foggo,  from  which  the  table  of  cor- 
rections has  been  partly  subtracted.  The  table  of 
quantity  by  weight  has  been  taken  from  Professor 
Daniel's  Work  on  Meteorology,  to  which  the 
reader  is  referred  for  further  particulars. 


126 


• 

•     , 

TABLE  OF  QUANTITY. 

SHOWING    THE   WEIGHT,    IN     GRAINS,    OF    A   CUBIC 

FOOT  OF  VAPOR,  AT    DIFFERENT   TEMPERA- 

TURES,  FROM   0  TO   95°  F. 
I 

< 

1 

1 

1       . 

•<             ^ 

£      w 

d 

£      « 

d 

*j      ^ 

d 

s  «• 

d 

**d.2 

w  2  .5 

b/j  3  ^ 

^           fl 

9 

•53  S  g 

'53->-i  cs 

p 

•C-2'rt 

C" 

•£•-  S 

•*             H 
1 

^    0 

H 

^    O 

£ 

° 

*- 

^     0 

^               I 

H                     2 

0856 
0.892 
0.928 

24 

3 

1.961 
2.028 
2.096 

48 

49 
50 

4.279 
4.407 
4535 

72 
73 
74 

8924 
9.199 

9484 

H                   3 

0.963 

27 

2  163 

4084 

75 

9-780 

H               4 

0.999 

28 

2  229 

52 

4.832 

76 

10.107 

•«               5 
<               6 

1.034 
.069 

29 

30 

2.295 
236I 

53 
54 

5003 

5-173 

10.387 
10.699 

H               7 

.104 

3i 

2.451 

55 

5342 

79 

11.016 

1       '        8 

•  139 

32 

2539 

56 

55H 

80 

Ji-333 

<               9 

•  173 

33 

2.630 

57 

5.679 

81 

11.665 

-1                    10 

.208 

34 

2.717 

58 

5.868 

82 

12.005 

i              ii 

•254 

2805 

59 

6.046 

83 

12.354 

12 

308 

36 

2  892 

60 

6  222 

84 

12.713 

13 

14 

359 
i  405 

38 

2-979 
3.066 

61 
62 

6-399 
6-575 

13.081 

13-458 

15 
16 

I-45I 
M97 

39 
40 

3-153 
3239 

63 
64 

6.794 
7.013 

87 
88 

13-877 
14-230 

17 

I-54I 

41 

3371 

& 

7-.230 

89 

14.613 

•<              18 
<              19 

<                   20 

I.S&6 
1.631 

1.688 

42 
43 
44 

3502 

i?4 

66 

7447 
7.662 
7899 

90 
92 

15-005 
15.432 
15-786 

<                    21 

i  757 

45 

3-893 

69 

8-135 

93 

16.186 

22 

23 

1.825 
1.893 

46 
47 

4,022 
4-151 

70          8.392 
71          8  658 

94 
95 

16-593 
17.009 

\ 

f 

-<                                              ..-'-• 

* 

H                                                                                                  127 

l| 

TABLE  OF  CORRECTIONS. 

TO  BE  USED  WHEN   THE   TERM  OF  DEPOSITION,   OR 

DEW-POINT,  DIFFERS  FROM  THE  TEMPERATURE 

OF  THE   AIR   IN   THE   SHADE. 


s°! 

Correc- 
tion. 

d< 

5°J 

fl 

H 

^  § 

H 

Correc- 
tion. 

o 

o.oooo' 

13 

I.027I 

26 

I  0542 

39 

1.0813 

I 

.0020 

14 

1.0291 

27 

1.0562 

40 

1.0834 

2 

.0041 

15 

I.O3I2 

28 

0583 

41 

.0854 

i 

.0062 

16 

1-0333 

29 

0604 

42 

0875 

4 

.0083 

17 

1.0354 

.0625 

43 

.0896 

5 

.0104 

iS 

1-0375 

31 

0646 

44 

.0917 

6 

.0125 

19 

.0396 

32 

0667 

45 

0937 

7 

.0146 

20 

.0417 

33 

.0687 

46 

.0958 

8 

.0167 

21 

•0437 

34 

.0708 

47 

.0979 

9 

.0187 

22 

.0458 

35 

0729 

48 

.1000 

10 

.0208 

23 

.0479 

36 

.0750 

49 

.1021 

ii 

.0229 

24 

.0500 

37 

.0771 

50 

.1042 

12 

.0250 

25 

.0521 

38 

.0792 

51 

1062 

52 

.1083 

5    1 

RULE. — To  find  the  weight  of  moisture  in  a 
cubic  foot  of  air  at  any  time.  Divide  the  weight  in 
grains  found  opposite  to  the  temperature,  corres- 
ponding to  the  dew-point  at  the  time,  in  the  table 
of  quantity,  by  the  correction  found  opposite  to 
difference  of  temperature  in  the  table  of  corrections, 
corresponding  to  the  absolute  dryness  existing  at 
the  time. 


128 


MASON'S  PATENT  HYGRODIKE. 


This  instrument  is  on  the  principle  of  Mason's 
Hygrometer,  but  arranged  with  dial  and  pointer 
so  that  the  absolute  and  relative  dryness  and  the 
dew-point  may  be  read  off  without  calculation. 
The  price  is  $15.00 


129 


REGNAULT'S   HYGROMETER,    WITH   ASPIRATOR. 


These  instruments  consist  of  a  thin  and  highly- 
polished  tubular  vessel  of  silver,  having  one  end 
somewhat  longer  than  the  other.  A  very  delicate 
thermometer  is  introduced  into  the  tube  at  the 
smaller  end,  to  which  end  of  the  tubular  vessel, 
also,  a  flexible  rubber  tube  with  ivory  mouth- 
piece is  attached.  A  sufficient  quantity  of  ether 
to  cover  the  bulb  of  the  thermometer,  being 
poured  into  the  silver  vessel,  the  ether  is  agitated 
by  breathing  through  the  flexible  tube.  A  rapid 
evaporation  ensues  until  at  the  moment  the  dew- 
point  is  reached,  the  moisture  is  seen  to  condense 
upon  the  exterior  surface  of  the  polished  silver 
tube.  The  reading  of  the  thermometer  at  this 
precise  moment  gives  the  dew-peint.  Complete  in 
case,  $75.00.  Too  high  priced  for  ordinary  use, 
but  a  splendid  addition  to  an  experimental  outfit. 
130 


BROODING. 


For  the  first  day  after  the  chicks  are  taken  from 
the  incubator  they  should  be  confined  to  a  brooder, 
to  get  them  used  to  it,  so  they  will  go  in  and 
out. 

The  brooder  or  nursery  should  be  so  constructed 
that  they  can  go  in  and  out  at  will,  and  not  be 
compelled  to  stay  under  the  hover  when  too  warm 
or  outside  when  cold,  as  is  the  case  with  too  many 
brooders,  the  chicks  in  the  middle  being  made 
prisoners  by  those  on  the  outer  edges  and  injured 
or  suffocated,  while  at  the  same  time  those  near 
the  outer  edges  are  perhaps  suffering  with  cold. 

The  illustration  shows  a  very  nice  arrangement 
for  a  nursery  or  indoor  brooder,  and  is  convenient 
to  have  even  when  you  have  large  brooding  houses 
heated  by  hot  water  pipes.  This  brooder  can  be 
made  by  anyone  who  is  handy  with  tools — the 
metal  heater  and  chimney  can  be  made  by  any 
tinsmith. 

A  brooder  is  supposed  to  take  the  place  of  a 
good  hen.  To  do  this  successfully  it  must  be  made 
as  nearly  like  a  hen  as  possible.  Now  how  is  a  hen 
built?  Where  does  the  heat  come  from  ?  Where 
do  the  chicks  hover?  How  do  they  get  to  and 
from  the  heat,  and  receive  fresh  air?  Look  at  the 
illustration  of  a  brooding  hen,  and  see  for  yourself. 
Is  not  the  heat  which  the  chicks  get  from  her 
principally  side  heat?  By  chance  a  chick  may  get 
caught  under  the  breast  bone  or  under  the  foot  of 
a  hen,  but  not  often.  The  wings,  feathers  and 
132 


down  of  the  hen  retain  the  greater  part  of  the 
heat  from  the  body.  The  brooding  chicks  can  put 
their  heads  out  for  fresh  air,  instead  of  being 
crammed  into  a  bunch  and  surrounded  by  from 
fifty  to  a  hundred  other  chicks.  If  they  are  too 
warm  they  can  get  out,  if  not  pinned  down  under 
the  breast  bone  or  foot  of  the  hen. 

The  heat  from  the  hen  certainly  cannot  te 
termed  "bottom  heat,"  nor  yet  "top  heat."  It 
is — as  she  squats  down  and  her  body  is  surrounded 
by  the  chicks — principally  "side  heat,"  with  some 
top  heat  retained  by  her  feathers.  Nature  pro- 
vides a  covering  for  the  chicks  to  nestle  under, 
and  a  brooder  should  have  something  soft  and 
heat  retaining  for  them  to  huddle  under ;  not 
simply  a  top,  compelling  them  to  squat  down  on 
the  floor,  but  something  to  take  the  place  of  the 
feathers  of  the  hen. 

For  the  first  week  the  temperature  of  the  brooder 
should  between  80°  and  90°  at  about  two  inches 
above  the  floor.  After  a  few  days'  practice  one 
easily  learns  to  test  the  heat  under  the  hover  of 
brooder  by  the  feel  of  the  hand,  and  the  ther- 
mometer is  then  unnecessary.  When  we  say  that 
the  temperature  should  be  between  80°  and  90°, 
we  mean  that  it  should  be  that  warm  under  the  hover 
without  any  chicks  under  it.  As  the  chicks  grow 
older  they  require  less  artificial  heat,  because  they 
furnish  more  animal  heat  as  they  increase  in  size, 
so  you  should  gradually  decrease  the  heat  ;  but 
never  have  it  lower  than  70°  with  chicks  under  the 
hover,  as  long  as  they  require  brooding.  This 


minimum  degree  of  heat  should  be  reached  at 
about  the  sixth  week. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  use  the  thermometer  after 
once  adjusting  the  heat  supply  of  a  brooder, 
because  (with  a  proper  brooder)  you  can  tell  by 
the  action  of  the  chicks  if  they  are  too  warm  or 
too  cold.  If  too  warm  they  will  put  their  heads 
out  from  under  the  hover  or  come  out  entirely. 
If  too  cold  they  will  chirp  in  a  tone  which  no  one 
can  mistake  for  a  signal  of  satisfaction.  Learn 
to  tell  the  right  temperature  by  placing  your  hand 
under  the  hover — it  is  very  simple  and  easy,  and 
less  trouble  and  more  satisfactory  than  a  ther- 
mometer. Some  persons  will  advise  you  to  have 
a  brooder  too  hot  rather  than  too  cold.  We  say 
have  it  just  right.  If  the  brooder  feels  comfort- 
ably warm  to  the  hand,  and  the  chicks  stay  under 
the  hover  (at  hovering  time),  seem  contented  and 
do  not  cry  out,  you  may  be  sure  they  are  all  right. 

Brooders  with  either  "top  heat"  or  "bottom 
heat,"  and  having  a  square  or  oblong  hover,  say, 
eighteen  to  twenty-four  inches  square  or  wide, 
either  with  or  without  flannel  or  woolen  drapery, 
are  open  to  very  serious  objections.  When  the 
chicks  in  the  middle  get  too  warm  they  try  to 
move  to  the  outer  edges  or  to  get  outside  entirely, 
but  those  on  the  outer  edges,  being  comfortable  or 
just  a  trifle  cool,  refuse  to  stir,  and  the  ones  in  the 
centre  must  remain  there  and  become  overheated 
and  sick.  Or,  if  the  chicks  on  the  outer  edges 
become  cold  they  crowd  toward  the  centre  and 
crush  or  smother  .the  chicks  that  are  there.  You 


say,  why  not  have  the  heat  just  right,  so  they  will 
have  no  occasion  to  push  or  crowd?  How  can 
you,  with  that  kind  of  a  brooder  ?  Place  a  crowd 
of  people  under  a  shed  the  floor  of  which  is  heated, 
and  will  not  those  in  the  middle  be  uncomfortably 
warm  if  those  on  the  outside  edges  are  just  warm 
enough?  Or,  if  those  in  the  middle  are  just  warm 
enough,  will  not  the  outer  ones  be  cold,  particu- 
larly if  the  weather  is  extra  warm  or  extremely 
cold?  It  would  be  the  same  if  the  heat  came 
from  the  top.  But  let  chicks  surround  either  a 
square  or  oblong  heat  reservoir  or  heater,  so 
arranged  that  the  hover  projects  only  far  enough 
to  shelter  two  or  three  rows  of  chicks  (only 
two  or  three  deep  from  the  outer  row  of  flannel 
drapery  to  the  wall  of  the  heat  reservoir),  and 
crowding  is  impossible  ;  the  inner  chicks  can  get 
out  or  the  outer  ones  can  get  closer  in.  If  a  chick 
is  pushed  from  under  the  hover,  another  takes  its 
place,  and  the  ousted  chick  finds  the  vacant  spot 
and  occupies  it.  The  inner  row  of  chicks  are  only 
about  six  inches  from  the  outside  air  and  do  not 
suffer  for  want  of  pure  ventilation. 

You  can  place  a  hundred  men  in  rows  two  or 
four  abreast  and  they  will  be  comfortable,  but  place 
them  in  a  square  or  round  room  just  large  enough 
to  hold  them,  and,  no  matter  whether  it  be  winter 
or  summer,  at  least  one-third  of  them  will  be  un- 
comfortable. Is  not  the  argument  conclusive? 
Still  we  do  not  give  this  from  theory,  but  from  ex- 
perience— after  burying  bushels  of  chicks  from 
both  " bottom  heat"  and  ''top  heat  "brooders. 


Since  adopting  "side  heat"  we  have  not  lost  over 
five  per  cent. 

The  flannel  or  woolen  drapery  which  hangs 
down  from  the  hover  and  helps  retain  the  heat  and 
gives  a  feeling  of  cosy  comfort  to  the  chicks  is 
essential.  Nature  gives  them  side  heat  (from  the 
hen)  and  soft  covering  (the  feathers  of  the  hen), 
and  so  must  we.  if  we  want  them  to  be  comfort- 
able and  thrifty.  Heated  floor  or  ceiling  is  not 
enough.  Would  you  like  to  heat  a  bedroom  up 
to  70°  or  80°  and  lie  on  the  bed  or  floor  with  no 
covering  ?  We  think  you  would  prefer  to  have  the 
room  at  30°  or  40°  and  put  on  a  few  blankets.  Use 
your  best  judgment  in  the  matter  of  brooding. 
If  your  present  system  is  not  satisfactory,  or  if  you 
have  not  begun,  try  the  side  heat,  which  combines 
partial  top  heat,  as  shown  by  the  illustration  of  the 
brooding  hen,  with  narrow  hover  well  draped  with 
something  to  take  the  place  of  feathers,  and  you 
will  solve  the  problem  of  brooding.  This  plan 
takes  from  one-third  to  one-half  less  fuel  than  other 
styles  of  brooders. 

After  the  chicks  have  been  in  the  brooder  or 
nursery  one  day  and  night  they  should  be  allowed 
more  run,  and  if  the  weather  is  fair  they  should 
have  out-doors  runs.  Keep  them  from  the  grass 
until  the  sun  or  wind  has  dried  it.  If  the  weather 
is  cold,  watch  them  the  first  day  and  see  that  they 
do  not  stay  out  and  get  chilled  ;  but  after  they  have 
learned  to  go  in  and  out  of  the  brooder,  they  may 
be  let  out  in  winter  as  well  as  in  warmer  seasons, 
but  you  must  use  some  judgment. 
136 


Keep  the  brooder  clean  by  using  sand  or  earth 
on  floor  of  brooder  and  house.  Do  not  use  the 
very  fine,  dusty  kind  of  sand  if  you  can  get  any- 
thing else. 

As  soon  as  the  chicks  show  an  inclination  to 
roost  get  them  out  of  the  brooding  house  and  into 
less  expensive  houses,  if  you  have  them,  and  make 
room  for  others,  besides  giving  them  more  range. 


BROODING  HOUSES. 


A  continuous  brooding  house,  divided  into 
rooms,  should  have  a  passage  way  through  it,  and 
if  thirty  feet  long,  or  longer,  should  have  a  hot 
water  stove  to  furnish  heat  for  the  brooders,  so  as 
to  save  attention  to  so  many  lamps. 

If  the  house  is  furnished  with  single  brooders, 
each  room  should  be  five  and  one-half  feet  wide 
and  nine  feet  long — the  length  being  parallel  with 
the  divisions  or  dividing  fences  of  yards.  If  heated 
by  continuous  hot  water  pipes,  the  rooms  should 
be  nine  feet  wide — at  right  angles  with  the  dividing 
fences,  and  five  and  one-half  feet  long — parallel 
with  dividing  fences.  The  reason  for  this  arrange- 
ment will  be  apparent  on  examining  the  different 
brooding  apparatus.  These  rooms  will  accommo- 
date from  fifty  to  one  hundred  chicks,  each. 


138 


BROODING  HOUSE 

WITH  HOT  AIR  BROODERS. 


This  brooding  house  is  fitted  with  the  Von  Culin 
Indoor  Hot  Air  Brooders.  The  rooms  may  be 
five  feet  wide  and  nine  feet  long,  or  may  be  made 
wider,  if  desired.  The  position  of  each  brooder  is 
shown  (B).  The  floor  is  elevated  one  foot  above 
the  ground,  to  allow  brooder  floor  to  be  on  a  level 
with  the  room  floor.  The  top  frame  shown  around 
the  hot  air  brooder  is  moveable,  and  may  be  taken 
away  after  the  chicks  get  used  to  the  brooder. 
Or,  it  may  be  covered  with  fine  wire  netting  and 
placed  on  at  night  where  there  is  danger  from  rats 
or  other  vermin. 


BROODING  HOUSE 

WITH   HOT  WATER  SYSTEM. 


This  brooding  house  is  fitted  with  the  Von  Culin 
system  of  hot  water  piping  and  brooders.  The 
drawing  shows  the  arrangement  of  the  pipes  and 
brooders,  the  division  of  rooms  and  yards,  the 
arrangement  of  base  board  and  wire  divisions,  and 
the  passage  way  back  of  the  rooms.  The  second 
drawing  gives  details  of  the  brooding  system. 

Each  room  should  be  nine  feet  wide  ;  this  gives 
a  brooder  nine  feet  long.  The  depth  or  width  of 
139 


140 


fooms,  five  feet,  with  yards  as  large  as  you  can 
make  them.  The  base  boards  should  be  two  feet 
high,  and  on  top  of  that  four  feet  of  wire  netting, 


O 


a 

\° 


VON   CULIN  S   BROODING   SYSTEM. 
(For  Hot  Water  Circulation.) 

two  inch  mesh.  If  base  board  is  only  one  foot 
high,  then  use  one  inch  mesh.  Posts  should  be 
ten  feet  apart.  Passage,  two  and  one- half  feet 

141 


wide.  It  does  not  cost  any  more  to  build  rooms 
this  size  and  shape  than  to  build  them  long  and 
narrow.  The  wide  room  gives  a  better  shaped 
yard. 

The  preceding  illustration  represents  the  Von 
Culin  system  of  brooders,  heated  by  circulation  of 
hot  water  for  houses  of  all  sizes.  The  illustration 
on  page  140,  shows  the  application  of  the  same. 
Y,  shows  the  passage  of  house;  D,  the  floor;  P, 
the  base  board  above  the  brooder  ;  S,  wire  netting 
which  divides  the  passage  from  rooms  ;  H,  the 
main  hot  water  pipe  ;  K,  return  pipe  ;  L,  the  box- 
ing of  pipes,  forming  the  heater  ;  M,  wire  netting 
to  keep  chicks  from  'pipes ;  W,  flannel  covering 
the  wire,  a"nd  strips  of  flannel  hanging  from  hover  ; 
N,  hover,  which  is  hinged,  and  can  be  raised  for 
cleaning  ;  V,  divisions  to  separate  each  brooder 
heater  ;  R,  S,  are  two  one  and  one-half-inch  holes 
opening  from  heater  box  into  passage,  and  having 
a  round  button,  to  regulate  the  heat  for  each 
separate  brooder,  to  suit  chicks  of  any  age.  All 
pipes  are  run  on  a  dead  level ;  and  all  hovers  the 
same  height,  though  the  hover  can  be  lowered  to 
any  desired  degree  to  accommodate  chicks  of  any 
size.  It  is  not  necessary  to  be  continually  shifting 
chicks  from  one  room  to  another  ;  the  height  and 
temperature  of  each  or  any  hover  may  be  changed 
at  will. 


142 


HOT  WATER  STOYE 

WITH  CONTROLLING  APPARATUS. 


This  Hot  Water  Stove,  which  has  a  water  jacket 
around  it,  supplies  the  heat  to  the  hot  water  pipes 
of  brooding  system,  or  for  other  purposes  ;  the 

water  flowing  out 
through  the  upper 
pipe  and  returning 
through  the  lower  one 
to  be  reheated,  keep- 
ing up  a  continual  cir- 
culation. The  tank 
above  is  to 
supply  any 
escape  of 
water  in  the 
form  of  steam 
which  may 
occasionally  be  gener- 
ated by  overheating. 
The  safety  valve  pre- 
vents a  pressure  of 
over  five  pounds,  as 
pressure  above  that 
point  would  stop  the 
circulation  of  water. 
Each  day  the  valve  below  the  tank  is  opened  to 
supply  any  waste  which  may  have  occurred,  and 
then  closed  again,  and  kept  closed  while  heating 
the  brooding  house.  If  hot  water  is  needed,  to 
mix  feed,  scald  chickens,  etc.,  the  two  valves  from 


the  brooder  pipes  are  closed  and  the  valves  to  and 
from  the  tank  are  opened,  thus  causing  a  circula- 
tion through  the  tank  and  boiling  the  water.  To 
turn  the  circulation  through  the  brooders  again, 
you  simply  close  the  valves  nearest  the  tank  and 
open  those  leading  to  and  from  the  brooders. 
With  the  Von  Culin  system  two  pipes  only  are 
used  in  the  brooders  ;  other  pipes  may  be  run  into 
the  rooms  or  passage.  With  the  "top  heat" 
system  four  pipes  are  used.  Either  system  is 
simple,  and  may  be  laid  by  any  handy  mechanic 
or  plumber.  Many  poultrymen  make  and  fit  up  all 
their  brooders  and  houses. 


SINGLE  OUT-DOOR  BROODERS. 


Where  the  climate  will  permit  and  you  have 
plenty  of  ground,  the  outdoor  brooders  can  be 
used  without  division  fences,  and  in  most  places, 
without  any  permanent  fence  at  all,  by  simply  hav- 
ing one  or  two  portable  fences  to  place  around  the 
brooder  for  two  or  three  days,  to  colonize  the 
brood,  then  taken  away  and  used  for  other  brood- 
ers. Scatter  the  brooders  around  the  field  or  lawn, 
and  the  chicks  will  have  grass  and  larger  range 
than  otherwise,  which  always  reduces  the  expense 
of  raising  them,  gives  them  quicker  growth  and 
better  health.  It  is  a  profitable  way  to  raise 
broilers. 

144 


145 


'fe.  sjs^f?  <•!*  <ri»  qg eg «j*^gp 


146 


OUT-DOOR  HOT  WATER  BROODER. 


This  illustration  shows  a  brooder  with  six  com- 
partments, each  of  which  holds  one  hundred  chicks. 
The  brooders  are  made  of  various  sizes,  to  hold 
two  hundred,  four  hundred  or  six  hundred  chicks, 
and  are  heated  by  a  lamp.  The  drop  runs  are 
shown  on  one  side,  while  those  on  the  other 
side  are  up.  The  runs  are  kept  up  the  first- 
day,  until  the  chicks  get  used  to  the  brooder,  then 
lowered. 

Moveable  runs  are  made  to  keep  the  broods 
separated.  They  can  be  made  wide  at  the  farther 
ends  by  placing  the  corner  yards  at  an  angle.  If 
these  runs  are  made  near  a  division  fence  some  of 
the  larger  chicks  may  be  let  out  into  a  larger  yard 
or  a  free  run  at  your  convenience.  These  brooders 
need  no  houses,  but  may  be  placed  in  a  field, 
orchard,  or  yard.  In  severe  climates  they  may  be 
put  under  a  shed  in  the  winter,  and  moved  out 
later  in  the  season.  They  are  principally  side  heat 
with  moderate  top  heat.  It  is  impossible  to  over- 
heat, or  for  the  chicks  in  them  to  crowd  and 
smother.  It  is  the  same  principle  as  used  in  our 
Hot-water  System  in  Brooding  Houses. 

The  brooder  which  has  a  number  of  compart- 
ments should  have  a  yard  for  each  compartment, 
or  for  each  brood;  but  should  be  made  movable, 
so  that  the  whole  plot  or  group  of  runs  can  be 
plowed  or  spaded,  or  the  entire  arrangement 
moved  to  new  ground. 

147 


BROODER  YARDS. 


All  brooder  houses  should  have  yards  or  runs, 
the  larger  the  better.  The  fence  should  consist  of 
a  base  board  one  or  two  (two  preferred)  feet  high, 
nailed  to  posts,  two  by  four  inches,  placed  ten  feet 
apart  and  two  feet  in  the  ground  and  six  feet  above 
ground,  with  wire  netting  above  it.  If  the  base 
board  is  two  feet  high  the  mesh  of  the  netting  may 
be  one"  and  a  half  inch  or  two  inches,  but  if  the 
base  board  is  only  one  foot  high,  then  you  should 
have  one  inch  mesh  netting  at  least  one  foot  above 
the  board,  and  finish  above  with  larger  mesh.  The 
same  kind  of  fence  should  divide  the  yards  or 
runs.  If  possible  have  an  independent  gate  at  the 
outer  end  of  each  yard.  You  will  soon  recognize 
its  usefulness.  Besides  keeping  the  chicks  separated 
and  at  peace  with  neighbors,  the  base  board  breaks 
the  wind  in  winter. 


FEEDING  CHICKS. 


Give  them  no  food  for  the  first  twenty-four  hours, 
as  the  yelk  of  the  egg  is  absorbed  by  the  chick 
just  before  it  breaks  from  the  shell,  and  supplies 
nourishment  for  at  least  twenty-four  hours  after 
hatching.  Cramming  other  food  into  the  stomach 
before  the  yelk  is  digested  is  injurious. 

Give  them  fresh,  clean  water  from  the  start. 
Have  it  in  a  fountain  so  they  cannot  get  into  it. 
148 


If  water  is  given  them  in  open  vessels  they  will 
stand  in  it,  splash  themselves  and  get  chilled,  which 
is  dangerous  in  cold  weather  and  undesirable  at  all 
times.  They  will  also  make  the  water  filthy  and 
unfit  to  drink. 

We  have  tried  the  plan  of  giving  no  water  for 
the  first  three  weeks,  with  very  good  results ;  but 
the  trouble  which  begins  when  water  is  first  given 
to  them  makes  the  method  undesirable  and  very 
risky,  as  they  will  often  drink  until  they  fall  over 
or  froth  at  the  mouth. 

For  the  first  week  give  millet  seed,  as  much  as 
they  will  eat  up  clean,  every  two  hours.  If  you 
cannot  get  millet  seed  (which  is  sold  by  all  seeds- 
men), or  will  not  use  it  because  you  think  it  is 
too  high,  give  finely  cracked  wheat,  corn,  or  the 
grain  which  is  raised  in  your  section.  Sieve 
out  the  coarser  parts  for  larger  chicks  as  it  would 
be  wasted  if  fed  to  chicks  under  a  week  old. 
Place  granulated  charcoal  and  grit  where  they 
can  get  it  at  will.  Grass  is  good  for  them  at  all 
times. 

Second  week,  give  millet  seed,  fine  cracked 
wheat,  cracked  corn,  and  occasionally  (about  twice 
a  week)  rolled  oats.  If  millet  seed  is  high  in  price, 
discontinue  it  the  second  week  and  keep  on  with 
the  cracked  grain.  Let  the  cracked  grain  be  fine 
through  the  day  and  coarser  at  the  last  feeding  in 
the  evening.  Do  not  mix  the  grain,  but  give  each 
kind  separately — not  two  kinds  at  any  meal.  The 
change  gives  them  a  relish.  Once  a  day  give  them 
a  feed  of  finely  ground  green  bone  (fresh),  about 
149 


the  bulk  of  a  grain  of  corn  for  each  chick.  If  the 
chicks  are  confined  give  finely  chopped  onion  tops 
or  onions.  Feed  every  two  hours. 

Third  week,  give  the  same  food  as  second  week, 
but  increase  the  quantity  of  green  bone  one-half. 
Feed  five  times  a  day. 

Fourth  week,  still  feed  five  times  a  day,  and  to 
the  bill  of  fare  add  cooked  fresh  meat,  finely 
ground,  once  a  day,  the  quantity  for  each  chick 
being  the  bulk  of  three  grains  of  corn. 

Fifth  week,  morning  food,  first  day,  two  parts 
ground  corn,  two  parts  ground  oats,  one  part  bran. 
Mix  with  just  enough  water  to  make  it  stick 
together  (do  not  have  it  sloppy).  Use  hot  water 
in  cold  weather.  Always  allow  it  to  stand  fifteen 
minutes  after  mixing,  to  swell.  Have  the  corn  and 
oats  ground  together,  they  grind  better  that  way, 
and  make  a  better  mixture.  Feed  cracked  grain 
the  balance  of  the  day,  that  is  at  noon,  in  the 
middle  of  the  afternoon  and  about  a  half-hour 
before  they  go  to  the  hover  for  the  night,  making 
four  meals  a  day.  Second  day  :  soft  feed  as  above 
for  first  feed  and  at  noon.  Cracked  grain  balance 
of  the  day.  Third  day  :  three  meals  of  same  soft 
food,  and  cracked  grain  at  last  feeding.  Same  for 
the  balance  of  the  week. 

Sixth  week  :  same  soft  food  at  each  meal  except 
last  one  at  night,  increasing  the  allowance  of 
chopped,  cooked  meat.  Meat  should  be  given 
between  meals,  but  never  give  more  than  the  bulk 
of  a  chestnut  to  each, chick. 

Seventh  week  and  until  marketed,  same  as  sixth 
150 


week,  and  give  all  they  will  eat  up  clean  at  each 
meal,  except  meat. 

Grass  is  wholesome  for  chicks  as  soon  as  they 
begin  to  eat.  If  they  do  not  have  access  to  grassy 
runs  or  yards,  it  is  well  to  cut  a  few  fresh  sods  as 
often  as  convenient,  and  place  them  in  the  runs. 
If  this  cannot  be  done,  fresh  cut  grass  is  good. 
When  grass  is  out  of  season,  finely  chopped 
cabbage  once  a  day  or  every  other  day  to  chicks 
over  three  weeks  old. 

Do  not  forget  the  charcoal,  grit,  and  a  box  of 
crushed  shell  for  each  brood. 


FATTENING  BROILERS. 


Fattening  broilers  by  close  confinement  is  a  mis- 
take. Try  to  put  on  all  possible  flesh  by  giving 
them  all  the  food  they  will  eat  up  clean,  and  the 
more  exercise  they  have  the  better  their  appetite 
will  be,  the  faster  they  will  grow,  and  the  hardier 
birds  they  will  make. 

If  you  undertake  to  force  chicks  under  four 
weeks  old  by  soft  food,  you  will  impair  their  diges- 
tion, cause  them  to  be  weak  in  the  legs,  and  to 
feather  fast.  You  may  gain  a  little  flesh  by  the 
soft  food  from  the  start,  on  those  chicks  which  do 
thrive;  but  that  will  be  overbalanced  by  losses 
from  leg  weakness,  diarrhoea,  forced  feathers,  etc. 
By  any  method  of  feeding  some  chickens  will  be 


fatter  and  plumper  than  others.  It  is  ridiculous  to 
talk  of  fattening  pen  broilers. 

Would  any  sane  man  undertake  to  fatten  a 
young  pig  if  he  wanted  it  to  grow  and  put  on  flesh  ? 
Would  you  fatten  or  try  to  fatten  any  stock  that 
you  wished  to  grow  ? 

You  must  make  bone  and  muscle  first,  then  put 
on  flesh.  To  do  this  you  must  keep  your  chicks 
(or  other  stock)  in  good  health.  By  overloading 
man,  beast  or  fowl  with  unnatural  food  you  are 
almost  sure  to  disarrange  the  system  ;  and  soft, 
sloppy  food  is  not  the  natural  food  of  chicks  or 
fowls.  If  you  are  determined  to  give  soft  food  to 
chicks  under  four  weeks  old,  bake  corn  cake  in 
the  oven,  and  make  it  so  that  it  will  crumble. 

Never  fe^d  boiled  eggs  to  chicks. 


OLD  FOWLS  AND  YOUNG  CHICKS. 


Keep  old  fowls  away  from  the  brooders  and 
brooding  houses  and  runs  where  incubator  chicks 
are  kept,  and  do  not  mix  the  chicks  which  were 
hatched  under  hens  with  those  hatched  in  incuba- 
tors, because  the  chances  are  nine  to  one  that  lice 
or  mites  will  be  communicated  to  the  latter. 

Chicks  hatched  in  incubators  are  (cleanliness  hav- 
ing been  observed)  free  from  vermin  ;  but  we  have 
known  a  whole  section  of  brooder  houses  to  be 
filled  with  lice  by  placing  a  single  brood  of  eleven 
chicks,  whose  mother  died,  in  a  brooder  with  other 
chicks.  The  new  comers  were  not  suspected  of 
152 


being  lousy,  and  the  lice  multiplied  and  spread 
through  all  the  adjoining  rooms  and  yards  before 
being  discovered. 

We  have  also  known  roup  to  be  spread  in  the 
same  manner — in  one  instance  breaking  up  the 
establishment.  In  the  latter  instance  the  proprie- 
tor was  warned,  but  he  knew  it  all,  and  had  it  his 
own  way. 

Things  which  seem  small  or  trifling  sometimes 
make  tremendous  results.  By  watching  and  direct- 
ing small  matters  we  control  greater  ones. 


SELECTING  BREEDING  STOCK. 


Where  a  large  number  of  fowls  are  to  be  bought 
at  one  time  it  is  not  easy  to  get  just  what  is  most 
desirable,  but  care  should  be  used  that  no  objec- 
tionable fowls  are  bought  or  kept. 

If  you  are  starting  a  new  plant,  you  want  young 
stock.  Do  not  start  with  a  lot  of  old  hens,  for  they 
will  certainly  give  you  a  set  back  that  will  not  only 
dampen  your  ardor,  but  kill  your  profit  the  first  sea- 
son, and  perhaps  cause  you  to  make  a  total  fail- 
ure. 

The  old  notion  that  an  old  hen  would  produce 
better  and  stronger  chicks  than  a  young  hen,  has 
died  a  natural  death,  and  is  laughed  at  by  the 
majority  of  experienced  poultrymen.  If  you  want 
hens  to  hatch  with,  the  old  ones  are  all  right ;  but 
for  ordinary  use  they  have  the  following  disquali- 

153 


fications  :  they  lay  fewer  eggs  than  younger  birds, 
they  are  more  liable  to  disease  or  return  of  previous 
ailments,  very  liable  to  become  overfat,  have  often 
acquired  bad  habits,  such  as  feather  pulling,  egg  eat- 
ing, laziness ;  and  when  killed  and  dressed  for  mar- 
ket do  not  please  the  customers  or  bring  new  trade. 

By  all  means  select  young  stock.  You  will  be  com- 
pelled to  keep  over  for  the  second  season  about  one- 
half  of  the  stock  you  start  with,  if  you  intend  to 
establish  a  good  system  on  a  large  scale,  and  you 
will  then  find  that  you  have  plenty  stock  that  is  as 
old  as  you  want  it. 

Ordinarily  you  can  tell  the  young  stock  by 
examining  their  legs,  heads,  combs  and  plumage  : 
the  legs  being  smooth  and  clean,  the  heads  bright 
and  clear,  the  comb  smooth  and  not  too  large  ; 
there  will  be  an  absence  of  the  short  spurs  which 
are  found  on  some  old  hens.  The  plumage  will 
be  fresh  in  color,  without  the  brassy  or  dull  appear- 
ance shown  in  the  plumage  of  old  stock.  In  old 
fowls  of  the  white  varieties  the  yellow  tinge  shows 
plainly  in  the  males,  yet  some  of  the  young  cocks 
show  it  plainly.  The  novice  will  find  no  difficulty 
in  telling  old  from  young  males  ;  but  with  pullets 
it  is  not  always  so  easy.  Some  pullets  have  very 
rough  legs,  and  would  be  taken  for  hens  two  or 
three  years  old  ;  but  they  are  not  desirable,  so  you 
need  not  make  that  mistake.  On  the  other  hand 
you  will  often  find  hens  four  or  five  years  old  with 
as  clean  legs  as  pullets  have.  A  young  hen  or 
pullet  does  not  generally  have  as  rough  a  comb 
or  wattles,  and  is  more  active. 
154 


CULLING  BREEDING  STOCK. 


Cull  your  stock  as  often  as  you  can  find  any 
culls.  Culls  of  any  kind  are  undesirable.  If  you 
find  a  hen  that  is  a  poor  layer,  get  rid  of  her  and 
replace  her  with  a  better  one.  She  will  generally 
eat  as  much  as  a  good  layer,  takes  up  as  much 
room,  and  requires  as  much  care  and  attention, 
except  in  gathering  eggs. 

An  egg-eating  or  a  feather-pulling  hen,  no  matter 
how  fine  a  bird  or  how  good  a  layer,  should  be  killed 
and  marketed  or  eaten.  In  a  very  short  time  she 
would  teach  the  other  fowls  her  bad  habits.  An 
egg  eater  will  sometimes  eat  three  times  as  many 
eggs  as  she  lays. 

The  hen  that  wants  to  sit  quite  often  may  be 
useful  in  that  line,  but  no  other,  and  should  be  got 
rid  of. 

The  lazy  hen  that  lingers  on  the  roost  late  in  the 
day  is  not  the  one  that  lays  the  eggs.  Cull  out  all 
of  that  kind,  and  either  replace  them  or  keep 
fewer  hens  ;  they  ea  the  profit  made  by  good 
hens,  and  are  a  serious  drawback. 


WHEN  TO  CULL. 


First  cull  before  you  buy,  next  as  soon  after  as 
you  can  determine  what  to  cull.  Then  cull  the 
chicks  at  broiler  age,  keeping  the  best  in  form  and 
color  for  breeding  or  for  eggs,  then  cull  as  often  as 
you  find  anything  to  cull. 

155 


THE  BUSINESS  HEN. 


The  business  hen  is  the  one  that  brings  the  pro- 
fit. As  a  rule,  you  will  find  that  the  lively,  quick 
moving  hen  or  pullet  is  a  good  layer.  A  large, 
bright  comb  also  indicates  a  good  layer.  Where  a 
limited  number  of  fowls  are  kept,  the  best^and  the 
poorest  layers  may  be  discovered  by  the  shape, 
color  and  other  peculiarities  of  the  eggs,  and  in 
such  cases  the  culling  and  selecting  can  be  carried 
to  much  finer  points  than  usual. 


A  SECRET. 

We  call  the  following  a  secret  because  few  per- 
sons outside  the  charmed  circle  of  successful 
poultry  culture  know  it,  and  only  the  leaders  of  the 
successful  make  full  use  of  the  knowledge  of  it. 

It  is  the  secret  of  success  with  poultry  on  a  large 
scale,  and  is  practised  by  the  most  successful  poul- 
trymen  throughout  the  world. 

Kill  and  burn  all  diseased  chickens  and  foivls  as 
soon  as  discovered. 

Observe  the  flocks  every  day  and  visit  their 
houses  every  night.  If  you  hear  any  wheezing  or 
sneezing,  or  see  any  shaking  of  heads,  use  the 
vaporizer  described  elsewhere  promptly. 

Feed  no  carrion  or  tainted  meat  nor  any  spoiled, 
musty  or  damaged  food  of  any  kind.  See  that 
the  meat  you  use  is  sweet  and  fresh,  the  grain  good 
and  sound  ;  the  water  fresh  and  clean,  cool  in 
summer  and  not  frozen  in  winter.  Supply  plenty 
of  gravel  or  grit,  lime  in  some  shape — crushed 
156 


shells  or  otherwise,  and  granulated  or  broken 
charcoal  all  the  time. 

Give  your  birds  clean  and  comfortable  quarters. 

Just  as  soon  as  a  hen  ceases  to  be  profitable 
market  it.  When  you  see  a  fowl  that  does  not 
look  like  a  business  fowl — one  that  stays  late  on 
the  roost,  stands  around  by  itself,  is  inactive,  over- 
fat,  broken  down,  walks  unsteadily,  is  pale,  or 
shows  signs  of  moulting,  dress  and  market  it 
promptly,  except  where  you  wish  to  keep  moult- 
ing hens  over  for  the  next  season,  and  they  are 
not  the  most  profitable  kind  to  keep. 

Remember  that  this  rule  does  not  apply  to  dis- 
eased fowls.  The  first  part  of  the  "secret"  dis- 
poses of  them. 

When  these  rules  are  strictly  followed  there  will 
be  no  danger  of  diseased  fowls.  You  may  say 
that  you  do  not  wish  to  sell  or  reduce  your  stock. 
Perhaps  not,  but  the  birds  we  have  described,  the 
overfat,  inactive  and  moulting  fowls  are  fit  subjects 
for  disease,  which  in  every  form  is  more  easily 
avoided  than  cured,  and  your  risk  of  loss  is  far 
greater  with  a  few  such  fowls  among  your  flocks 
than  from  a  reduction  in  numbers  by  marketing 
the  same. 

A  YILLAINOUS  PRACTICE. 


The  preceding  rules,  if  strictly  carried  out,  pre- 
vent and  remove  all  temptation  toward  the  vil- 
lainous practice  of  marketing  diseased  fowls.  It  is 
almost  incredible,  yet  a  fact,  that  many  extensive 


breeders  and  commission  men  kill,  dress  and 
market  diseased  poultry.  In  a  State  which  we 
need  not  name,  we  have  seen  fowls  in  all  stages  of 
roup,  chicken-pox,  canker,  etc.,  offered  for  sale 
by  the  poultry  dealers  and  commission  men,  for 
table  use,  in  the  same  markets  and  stores  with  fish, 
meat  and  game.  Hens  so  badly  diseased  that  they 
could  not  eat,  and  those  with  heads  swollen  to 
almost  double  their  normal  size,  were  dressed 
heads  off.  Never  sell  a  fowl  that  you  cannot  leave 
the  head  on.  Never  buy  one  with  the  head  off. 

Of  course  you  indignantly  disclaim  any  idea  of 
selling  diseased  fowls,  and  we  are  inclined  to  be- 
lieve that  you  would  not  do  so  intentionally ;  but 
unless  diseased  fowls  are  killed  and  burned  as  soon 
as  discovered  and  the  utmost  vigilance  exercised 
to  discover  them,  you  are  very  apt  to  be  the  unin- 
tentional assistant  in  such  business.  For  instance 
you  have  a  lot  of  fowls  to  sell,  in  order  to  make 
room  for  growing  stock.  A  buyer  or  huckster 
comes  along  and  makes  you  an  offer  for  the  entire 
lot.  You  have  not  been  diligent  in  examining  them 
of  late,  and  a  mild  form  of  some  disease  has  got 
among  them  without  your  notice,  or  you  have  a 
few  quarantined,  and  you  let  them  go  just  as  they 
are,  because,  in  the  latter  event,  he  tells  you  that 
he  thinks  he  can  cure  them  ;  and  they  all  go  into 
the  coopi  together.  When  he  gets  them  to  his 
killing  house  he  cures  the  worst  ones  first,  with 
knife  or  hatchet,  whichever  way  looks  best.  Some 
eggs  look  best  scrambled ;  some  fowls  look  best 
"  heads  off." 

158 


Men  who  deliberately  do  such  things  would 
be  more  useful  to  the  poultry  fraternity  with 
heads  off. 

Poultrymen,  as  a  rule,  are  first-rate  people,  but 
there  are  poultry  jockeys  as  well  as  horse  jockeys. 
The  horse  trader  who  doses  and  doctors  a  nag  to 
conceal  a  dozen  imperfections  from  the  innocent 
purchaser,  is  a  saint  in  comparison  with  the  man 
who  knowingly  sells  a  diseased  fowl  for  food. 

Of  what  interest  is  this  to  the  honorable  btgin- 
ner?  It  shows  him  an  existing,  hidden  danger 
and  the  means  by  which  to  avoid  it.  If  he  is  on 
his  guard  against  selling  diseased  fowls,  he  will 
also  be  on  his  guard  against  buying  them,  and 
that  one  point  may  decide  his  success  or  failure 
in  raising  poultry.  One  diseased  fowl  may  spread 
ruin  throughout  the  establishment. 


THE  VAPORIZER  AND  ITS  USE. 


One  of  the  most  useful  implements  on  the  poultry 
farm  is  a  vaporizer.  If  you  have  not  got  one, 
you  can  easily  make  one.  Take  an  ordinary  hand 
lamp  which  has  a  No.  i  burner,  and  make  a  tin 
chimney  for  it,  similar  to  an  incubator  or  brooder 
chimney,  with  mica  piece  in  front  to  show  flame. 
Take  a  seamless  tin  box,  about  six  inches  in 
diameter  and  any  convenient  depth,  having  a 
cover  to  fit,  and,  with  strips  of  tin  and  rivets, 


fasten  the  box  to  the  top  of  the  chimney — over  the 
top  and  about  an  inch  above  it,  so  as  to  leave  a 
good  draft  for  lamp.  If  you  cannot  find  a  box  of 
convenient  size,  get  a  small  cake  pan  or  saucepan, 
and  fit  a  flat  tin  lid  to  it.  Having  your  vaporizer 
complete,  keep  on  hand  (in  air-tight  jar  or  box)  a 
supply  of  carbonate  of  ammonia  and  gum  cam- 
phor. 

When  you  discover  any  colds,  wheezing  or  sneez- 
ing among  your  flocks,  mark  the  house  or  the 
houses,  and  after  dark  cover  all  the  cracks  and 
close  the  doors  and  windows,  and  having  put  a 
convenient  quantity  of  carbonate  of  ammonia  and 
green  camphor  in  the  tin  box  (two  ounces  of  car- 
bonate of  ammonia  to  one  ounce  of  green  cam- 
phor), light  the  lamp,  and  burn  it  in  the  poultry 
house.  The  two  ingredients  being  volatile,  will 
vaporize  and  fill  all  parts  of  the  house.  Burn 
until  the  fowls  move  about  on  the  perches  and 
show  signs  of  uneasiness,  and  the  vapor  gives 
a  strong,  pungent  odor.  If  the  birds  attempt 
to  leave  the  roosts,  remove  the  vaporizer.  For 
an  ordinary  cold  one  fumigation  will  generally 
effect  a  cure,  and  the  fowls  need  not  be  removed 
from  their  house  ;  it  is  also  a  good  preventive 
to  be  used  occasionally  when  colds  or  roup  are 
prevalent  in  your  neighborhood.  Cases  of  roup, 
diphtheria,  canker,  etc.,  should  be  removed  to 
a  quarantine  and  treated  there.  Our  advice  is 
to  kill  and  burn  them  at  once ;  but  as  we 
know  that  some  will  not  do  this,  then  we  must 
advise  what  is  next  best.  Having  placed  these 
160 


cases  in  quarantine,  close  the  roosting  houses  and 
use  the  vaporizer  each  night  for  at  least  three 
nights.  If  in  the  early  stages,  three  treatments 
will  cure,  but  later  on  it  requires  more.  We  have 
repeatedly  cured  bad  cases  of  roup  and  diphtheria 
with  the  vaporizer,  and  have  never  failed  when 
taken  in  time.  When  not  in  use  always  keep 
the  box  containing  the  ammonia  and  camphor 
closed.  The  success  of  this  treatment  depends 
upon  using  it  promptly >  and  in  bad  cases,  persever- 
ingly.  Those  who  have  had  experience  in  treat- 
ing roup  by  old  methods  will  gladly  drop  the  dis- 
gusting, sickening  processes,  and  substitute  this 
clean,  wholesome,  and  convenient  one.  It  is  a 
good  plan  to  keep  lantern  and  vaporizer  close 
together,  and  when  you  make  your  night  round 
with  lantern,  just  carry  the  vaporizer  along. 


161 


EGG  AND  BROILER  FARM. 


The  above  engraving  shows  a  section  of  an  egg 
and  broiler  farm  built  by  C.  Von  Culin  in  1885, 
reproduced  from  a  photograph.  In  the  foreground 
are  a  group  of  sixteen  brooding  houses  under  four 
roofs  (four  under  each  roof),  with  yards  attached. 
Beyond  are  laying  and  roosting  houses  scattered 
at  regular  intervals.  They  are  built  on  runners, 
and  may  be  moved  to  new  ground  as  often  as 
required  for  cleanliness  and  new  pasture.  There 
are  no  fences  around  these  houses  ;  a  small,  port- 
able fence  is  placed  around  a  house  for  three  days 
to  colonize  a  new  flock,  and  then  removed.  Eggs 
from  fowls  kept  on  this  plan  show  a  large  per  cent, 
of  fertility  and  yield  vigorous  chicks. 
162 


HE  ARSON  S  AUTOMATIC   NURSE. 
For  Nursing  Weak  or  Premature  Infants. 


HATCHING  DUCKS  IN  CHINA. 


The  artificial  hatching  of  ducks  is  one  of  the 
interesting  industries  of  China,  and  has  been 
carried  on  extensively  for  hundreds  of  years.  The 
Chinese  are  very  fond  of  ducks  and  duck  eggs, 
yet  those  in  America  are  not  far  behind  the  Africo- 
Americans  in  their  appetite  for  chicken.  Most  of 
the  Chinese  hatching  houses  are  constructed  of 
bamboo,  plastered  with  mud  and  thatched  with 
straw.  The  eggs  are  placed  in  baskets  which  have 
a  tile  bottom  and  a  close  straw  cover.  They  are 
arranged  around  in  rows  and  fire  placed  beneath. 
They  are  tested  on  the  fifth  day,  and  on  the 
fifteenth  day  are  placed  on  shelves  and  covered 
163 


with  blankets,  the  animal  heat  then  being  depended 
upon  to  finish  the  hatching.  The  natives  along 
the  coast  who  live  on  house  boats  or  rafts  get  the 
eggs  hatched  at  the  hatching  house  and  raise  the 
ducks  literally  on  the  water. 


CROCODILE  EGGS. 


Even  if  he  does  commit  fowl  deeds  on  the  Nile, 
the  crocodile  cannot  be  classed  with  poultry.  Still 
it  may  interest  many  of  our  readers  to  know  that  it 
lays  an  egg  smaller  than  a  goose  egg,  the  average 
size  being  three  inches  long  and  two  inches  in 
diameter,  equally  large  at  both  ends,  and  very 
similar  in  shape  to  a  snake  egg.  They  are  laid  in 
the  sand  and  hatched  by  the  sun.  On  breaking 
the  shell  of  an  egg  well  advanced  in  incubation, 
you  will  find  the  young  "  croc  "  doubled  up  with 
his  tail  to  his  nose. 


164 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Incubation  in  Egypt, 5 

Egyptian  Incubating  House, 8 

A  Good  Incubator, 14 

How  to  Choose  an  Incubator 15 

Don't  Make  a  Failure, 17 

The  Best  Size  Incubator, 18 

Hot  Air  or  Hot  Water  ? 19 

Marking  Eggs,      28 

Table  for  Records, 32 

Cooling  the  Eggs, 33 

Testing  Eggs, 35 

How  the  Chicks  Develop,      .  • 47 

Animal  Heat, 54 

When  Hatching 54 

Dead  in  the  Shell 55 

Periods  of  Incubation 63 

Moisture  in  Hatching, 64 

Hatching  Ducks, 72 

Hatching  Geese. 73 

Hatching  Turkeys 73 

Hatching  Ostriches, 78 

A  Letter, 79 

The  Thermostatic  Incubator, 81 

The  Eureka  Incubator, 84 

The  Eureka  Brooder, 85 

Improved  Simplicity  Hatcher, 86 

Directions  for  Operating, 89 

Simplicity  Compartment  Hatcher, 92 

165 


PAGE 

Water  Expansion  Regulators, 92 

Two  Regulators, >  .  98 

Hocus  Pocus  Regulators, 100 

Other  Methods  of  Regulation, 112 

Thermostats,      115 

Moisture  Gauges  and  Hygrometers, 130 

Brooding, 132 

Brooding  Houses, 137 

Hot  Air  Brooding  House, 138 

Hot  Water  Brooding  House, 140 

Hot  Water  Stove  with  Apparatus, 143 

Single  Out-door  Brooder, 144 

Out-door  Hot  Water  Brooder,       147 

Brooder  Yards, 148 

Feeding  Chicks, 148 

Fattening  Broilers, 151 

Old  Fowls  and  Young  Chicks, 152 

Selecting  Breeding  Stock, 153 

Culling  Breeding  Stock, 155 

When  to  Cull, 155 

The  Business  Hen, 156 

A  Secret, 156 

A  Villainous  Practice, 157 

The  Vaporizer  and  Its  Use, 159 

Egg  and  Broiler  Farm, 162 

Automatic  Baby  Nurse, 163 

Hatching  Ducks  in  China,    ...    t    ........  163 

Crocodile  Eggs, 164 


1 66 


?4  £  &  4  •!•  4-  -i 

-£< 


I  have  bred  Barred  Ply- 
mouth Rocks  exclu- 
sively for  a  number 
of  years,  and  believe 
that  I  have  stock  that 
will  please  you.  My 
fowls  have  been  care- 
fully selected  this 
season,  especially 
for  their  Good  Combs 
andWell  Barred  Plu- 
mage, Yellow  Leg 
and  Beaks,  Large 
Compact  Bodies  and 
Good  Laying  quali- 
ties. Fowls,  $2  oo 
and  upward;  Eggs, 
$2.00  per  setting. 
Address, 

/  T.  Drench, 

83S  "(drbzna  fitreet, 
Toledo,  ©bio. 


OF  RLL  KINDS 


OUR   SPECIALTY. 
CATALOGUE  FRHH  TO 

SEED  <3o., 


17  and  19  Ellicott  St., 


Buffalo,  N.  Y. 


167 


Eagle  Brand  the  Best 
ROOFING 


It  is  superior  to  any  other  roofing  and  unequaled  for  House,  Barn, 
Factory  or  out-buildings  ;  it  costs  half  the  price  of  shingles,  tin 
or  iron  ;  it  is  ready  for  use  and  easily  applied  by  any  one  ;  it 
is  the  best  roofing  in  the  market,  in  durability  to  all  others. 
NO  TAR  USED. 

Send  for  estimate  and  state  size  of  roof. 

The  Roofing  that  for  the  longest  time  puts  off  the  necessity  of 
repairs  or  renewing  is  the  roofing  which  must,  in  the  nature  of 
things  commend  itself  to  the  user  as  the  most  economical.  There- 
fore it  becomes  the  safeguard  for  QUALITY  and  DURABILITY 
to  select  the  kind  that  has  proved  the  most  effective  in  battling 
the  elements. 

Our  EAGLE  BRAND  IHPROVED  ROOFING  combines  the  im- 
portant qualities  of  stnngtliand  durability  Its  superior  method 
of  construction,  uniformity  of  finish,  facility  of  operation,  cheap- 
ness and  durability,  justify  us  in  recommending  this  Roofing,  as 
combining  more  merits  and  few  er  faults  than  any  other  Roofing: 
now  in  use.  It  unites  the  most  reliable  water'proof  materials 
in  the  best  manner.  It  is  warranted  indestructible  and  guaran- 
teed to  outlast  any  other  roofing  material  now  on  the  rrarket. 

RUBBER     GEMENTC. 

A  POSITIVE  CURE  FOR   LEAKY  ROOFS. 

It  is  designed  expressly  for  repairing  breaks  or  nail  holes  in  tin, 
'metal  or  other  Rcofs,  pointing  up  and  repairing  about  chimneys 
where  tin  joins  brick  cr  woodwork,  flashings,  copings,  clapboards 
where  houses  are  joined  together,  gutters,  cupolas,  dormer  win- 
dows, sky-lights,  hot-house  frames,  decks  or  bottom  of  boats, 
aquariums,  water  troughs  or  tanks,  leaks  in  gas  or  water-pipes, 
cementing  seams  in  wood,  stone  or  iron  work,  and  in  fact  all 
places  required  to  be  made  water-tight.  Price  fi  25  penolbs.  Can. 

RUBBER  PAINT. 

Our  Roofing  Paint  is  superior  to  any  other,  it  is  the  best  paint  in  the 
World  for  Felt,  Tin,  Iron,  or  to  preserve  old  Shingle  roofs.  It 
has  heavy  body,  expands  by  heat,  contracts  by  cold  ;  it  is  war- 
ranted not  to  peal,  scale,  crack  nor  wash  off;  it  is  easily  applied  ^ 
and  is  fire-proof;  it  will  not  affect  water  for  domestic  uses;  it  is 
excellent  paint  for  sides  of  Barns,  Outhouses,  Fences,  Iron 
Work,  Bridges,  and  Brick  Walls.  It  contains  no  tar,  therefore 
wi-11  not  crack  in  winter  nor  run  in  summer  ;  it  is  ready  mixed 
for  immediate  use. 

Pfiec  in  Barnel   lots,  only  6O  cents  per  gallon, 

Excelsior  Paint  &  Roofing  Company, 

155  DUANE  STREET,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.,  u.  S.*A 

1  68 


IV 


o 

POULTRY  BOOK 
DAVIS  BROS., 

WASHINGTON, 


NEW  JERSEY. 


BOOK  ISSUED 
JAN.    1, 


YOUR  NAME 
GETS  IT. 


SEND  FOR 
ONE. 


22  VARIETIES  OF  PURE  BRED 

POULTRY,  EGGS  AND  FOWLS. 


GROUND  BONE  AND  OYSTER  SHELLS 

FOR  POULTRY. 


Some  of  our  farming  friends  appear  to  be  deeply  impressed  with  the  notion 
that  hens  need  no  food  but  corn  in  some  of  its  forms.  But  we  ought  not  to  for- 
get that  food  means  the  material  for  everything  that  comes  out  of  the  system  r 
and  if  any  particular  race  takes  up  any  special  branch  of  manufacture  they 
must  have  the  raw  material.  All  animals  consume  more  or  less  lime  ;  it  is  one 
of  the  principal  elemeots  entering  into  the  composition  of  the  bones,  but  the 
hen  needs  an  extra  supply.  The  domesticated  hen  also  needs  more  than  wild 
stock  of  any  sort,  since  she  is  stimulated  to  a  greater  production  of  eggs.  In 
consequence,  we  must  give  her  more  than  is  contained  in  the  various  grains. 
The  most  useful  forms  in  which  to  give  lime  are  in  the  shape  of  coarsely  ground 
bone  and  oyster  shells.  Feed  these  articles  most  abundantly  at  the  time  when 
the  hens  are  laying  most  freely,  and  anticipate,  if  possible,  "by  feeding  early  in 
the  season. 

Raw  bone  has  been  proven  by  analysis  to  contain  every  part  of  an  egg- 
white,  yolk  and  of  course  shell.  It  should  be  constantly  kept  in  a  special  place 
in  the  pea  or  apartment  of  laying  hens,  as  they  will  consume  large  quantities 


of  it,  and  it  goes  chiefly  to  egg  production.    Granulated  is  the  best  form  in 
which  to  place  it  before  adult  fowls,  and  in  this  shape  it  keeps  fresh  longer  than 
when  ground  into  meal.    Bone  is  one  of  the  principal  ingredients  in  the  com- 
" " 


FITCH  FERTLIZER  (DORKS, 


BKV  CITY, 


MEDAL  AND 
©IPLOMA  WA5 
AWARDED  THESE 
©KEEN  PONE 


©UTTERS  AT  THE 
\»2RLb'5  FAIR. 


Our  $12  Power  Green  Bone  Cutter,  over  all  $26  power  cutters.  Has 
been  awarded  the  First  Premium  at  all  State,  Industrial,  County  and  Local 
Fairs  in  this  and  other  States  over  all  competitors.  Stands  without  a  peer. 
Is  Self-Feeding.  Superior  quality.  Is  not  complicated.  Easily  operated. 
And  stock  fed  on  its  cuttings  do  not  fill  up  in  the  crops  and  choke.  No  knives 
or  screws  to  become  loosened.  Best  results  guaranteed.  Try  and  see  how 
your  stock  will  improve.  Green  bone  cuttings  discount  grain.  Purchase  our 
Cutter  and  be  convinced.  Address 

WCBSTGR  &  HBNNUM,  Gazeqovia    N.  Y 


170 


\ti 
7  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 


mm. 


»§pfi»£o  i&<£i<£*T®E3icc  i 

This  publication  is  due  on  the  LAST  DATE 
stamped  below. 


An 


- 


RB  17-60m-6,'59 

(A2840slO)4188 


LD  21-100m-2,'55 
(B139s22)476 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


- 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


